The Estevan Police Service were alerted to a pair of scam attempts on Thursday. One target recognized it for what it was, but another is out thousands of dollars.

EPS Const. Danielle Stephany said the first scam was correspondence through the mail from a solicitor saying they were from the United Kingdom, and that the recipient was a beneficiary to an estate overseas.

"This is a common scam that we see, especially at this time, where the scammer attempts to generate correspondence in exchange for personal information to use the scam against the victim," said Stephany. "Fortunately the person reporting this was well informed and was just reporting it for informational purposes to us."

The second reported scam involved the victim being contacted by a person she thought was a Facebook friend.

Stephany said the scammer created a fake profile and was corresponding with the victim. The fake friend put the victim in touch with another profile which stated the victim could collect a prize by purchasing iTunes cards and forwarding the numbers.

"Unfortunately the victim had lost between $3,000 and $4,000 in doing so," said Stephany. "So we'd like to remind the public that you do not have to pay money to get a prize. If you are thinking that is legitimate, it is a scam. It is the number-one scam that is going around. You don't have to pay money to get money."

Other police calls included:

  • Theft of property from a local business. Police are going over surveillance footage as they continue the investigation.
  • Wrapping up a criminal harassment investigation, in which charges are pending.
  • Arresting a male at a bar for public intoxication after he refused to leave. He was held in cells until he sobered up.
  • Conducting a curfew check on a 29-year-old Estevan woman who was not home, as per her condition. Charges are pending.

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