RCMP address social media misinformation and warn of scams

By Ian MacKay

A recent post on a local Facebook page was wrong, councillors learned during their latest meeting.

A complaint to the local RCMP detachment was handled to the complainant’s satisfaction, Cpl. Chris Gramlich told councillors during their Feb. 2 meeting.

Instead, on or near Jan. 15, people were told that, “We dismissed that allegation and we didn’t effectively care about what that person had to say,” Gramlich said.

The complainant called, went to the police station about an hour and a half later, and gave a statement, he said.

“Ultimately, that complaint was addressed how the complainant wanted it to be dealt with,” he said. “We did take it seriously and we addressed it as that person wanted to.”

If residents “have something to report, whatever it might be, please let us know,” he said. “We can’t do anything about something if they don’t tell us. We do take things seriously, and we will do things as fast as we are able to do it and as the law provides an allowance to do that.”

He noted that police do make mistakes, “and it’s important that we are held accountable if the police go outside of the law or if we go beyond where we should.”

“People have to be very mindful about what they see on social media and think critically,” Gramlich added later.

An online reference to police drinking coffee at Tim Horton’s was also inaccurate, he said. None of the officers stationed here, or who are members of the traffic unit based in Rosetown, drink coffee, but traffic unit members have met there relatively regularly when they’re all in town at once, Gramlich said.

He also warned that “if something seems too good to be true, it probably is,” after mentioning a recent fraud incident in which somebody lost a lot of money.

In the various scams reported to police that involved alleged winnings or cryptocurrency, if people must first pay an amount to receive a prize, “you are being taken,” Gramlich said.

In several cases around here, small payments from victims have escalated to them paying “six figures,” he said, noting that legitimate online casinos and cryptocurrency markets exist.

“But there are a lot that aren’t (legitimate),” he said. “If you can’t access your own account—if you’re just being given screenshots of your crypto account or screenshots of your investment account—that is garbage. It is fake; you are being scammed; stop it,” Gramlich said.

“Just call us,” he advised people who are unsure when they’re approached about a financial matter. “Be extra vigilant,” he said. “Be very careful about where you’re investing your money.”

If people are offering returns of 20 to 30 per cent, why aren’t they begging their friends and relatives to invest, he wondered. He also warned about grandparent and online romance scams.

“Do not ever give anybody access to your log-in information,” he said. “If they ask for that, it’s a scam.”

The money has left the country, and police can’t recover it, he indicated.

Also, a new member recently joined the detachment, another returns from maternity leave in March, and a graduate from the training depot in Regina should arrive at the end of that month, Gramlich said.