A Nanaimo man's attempt to sell gym equipment over Facebook Marketplace ended with thousands being stolen from his bank account.
Nanaimo RCMP issued a press release Friday, Nov. 8, detailing the crime which happened on Oct. 18. Police received a report of an attempted fraud, after the victim listed gym equipment for sale on Facebook. According to the RCMP, the seller was contacted by someone who seemed to be an interested buyer. The two agreed on a price and e-mails were exchanged for an e-transfer.
"The buyer then asked for the seller's banking details, including their banking password," the release noted. "The seller, by his own admission, didn’t clue in to the gravity of his error."
After not receiving the money, the seller checked his bank account and noticed that thousands were missing.
The RCMP said that due to the victim noticing the discrepancy in his bank statement immediately, he was able to contact his bank and recover the money.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre advises that victimes of a scam or identity fraud should contact the police and their financial institution, including placing flags on all of their accounts, changing all of their passwords and reporting the fraud to both the Equifax and TransUnion credit bureaus.
Individuals can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre toll-free at 1-888-495-8501.
