photo credit: Saskatoon Police Service

Another scam to watch out for in Saskatoon and area – this one dealing with a job opportunity.

According to a Saskatoon Police Service news release, their Economic Crime Section recently received multiple reports of a fraudulent job scam targeting victims in the city. Victims have reported responding to a fraudulent job ad seeking a nanny/babysitter, housekeeper or personal assistant for someone moving to Saskatoon. Once the “job” is offered and accepted, the fraudster requests assistance from the victim in arranging payment for a storage locker and mails the victim a cheque to be cashed to cover the cost. The victim is then sent instructions to e-transfer sums of money to pay for the locker. The victims are then informed days later by their bank that the initial cheque provided to them by the fraudster had bounced, leaving them defrauded of several thousand dollars in sent e-transfers that, once they are sent and deposited, they can’t be reversed. The SPS asks that if you or someone you know has been victimized by something similar to this to contact your local police or report it to the SPS. If you have responded to a suspicious job ad and suspect fraud, but have not been victimized, you are to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.