Police release image of suspected Kamloops fraudster

A Kamloops couple have bravely come forward and reported to RCMP they had been scammed out of thousands of dollars. It all started on June 11 when the couple was contacted by a person who was crying and said he was their son and had been arrested, RCMP said. He went on to say he was in jail and his lawyer was with him. The person pretending to their son’s the lawyer spoke to the couple on the phone and asked them for bail money. The fake lawyer then told them a woman would be coming to their home to collect the bail money. “When the woman arrived, the victims handed over a large sum of money, thinking they were helping their son. Sadly, this was not the case; their son had never called them and was not incarcerated,” Kamloops RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Crystal Evelyn said in a media release issued today, June 26. Then the fraudster called back asking for more money but this time told them to use an e-transfer. That’s when their bank recognized the couple were being scammed. Investigators have security video footage of the female suspect collecting cash from the couple. “We are releasing a suspect photo to the public in the hopes that someone will have information, or more clearer images available of her, to help further the investigation,” Cpl. Evelyn said. RCMP describe the suspect as a Caucasian female with dark hair tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a white sweatshirt, dark leggings, white sneakers and a black crossbody bag. Anyone with information is asked to contact Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 and reference file 2024-18096. If you think you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud, please contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or your local police detachment. To contact a reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander mailto:halexander@infonews.ca  or call 250-309-5343 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tip@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .