Salmon Arm RCMP stop fraud in progress

May 12, 2026 - Salmon Arm, British Columbia
From: Salmon Arm RCMP

Content

File # 2026-2533

On April 28, 2026 at 3pm a woman reported an elderly man was trying to access the Bitcoin ATM on Hudson Ave NE, Salmon Arm, and was receiving instructions from someone over the phone on what to do. Salmon Arm RCMP attended and were able to stop the 75-year-old man before he deposited $20 000 in what appeared to be a scam claiming to recover bitcoins that he previously lost in a different scam. The elderly man was provided information on fraud and how to avoid being a victim.

This is a scam that targets those that have already been a victim of “boiler room scams.” Victims are contacted unsolicited (red flag) and the scam artist will offer to recover some of your lost money for a fee. If you pay the fee, that money is likely lost, and any previously lost money is never recovered, so the victim is re-victimized and out even more money.

Quotes

A general rule of thumb is if you receive unsolicited phone calls, text messages, or emails from anyone requesting money, personal information, or asking you to sign into any sort of account, it should be treated as a scam. Anyone giving you directions to deposit money somewhere should be treated as a scam. We are getting to a point where not answering your phone is the safest thing to do, let the caller leave a voicemail and you can assess the need to callback or not. You can also share the voicemail with someone you trust like a family member, who can assess whether the call is a scam or not.

Cst. Andrew Hodges of the Salmon Arm RCMP

Associated links

• RCMP Frauds and Scams
• CSA Avoiding Fraud

Contacts