Inside Scoop from Viking RCMP
Supplied by the Viking RCMP Detachment, a summary of weekly activities and important information to the community.
Published here every Friday.
November 15, 2024
WORD ON THE STREET
NOVEMBER 4th – 10th
On November 6th, members responded to a complaint of gunshots near Lake Thomas. When members arrived, they located a vehicle in the field. The vehicle proceeded to accelerate towards police vehicles before coming to an abrupt stop. Due to the nature of the complaint a high risk take down was completed. A 46-year-old male was taken into police custody. Investigation determined the male was discharging his firearm in the dark. The male stated he was testing out his rifle. A firearm was located on the front passenger seat along with several empty casing and alcohol. The male is facing charges of possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, careless use of a firearm, unsafe store of a firearm and transporting liquor in a vehicle when liquor is within easy access of an occupant. He will be appearing in Vegreville Provincial Court at a later date.
On November 7th, police received a complaint of a truck with an unsafe load. The complainant advised of a truck travelling on highway 14 and the load appears to have shifted looking like it may fall off. Members were unable to locate the vehicle.
That afternoon, police received information of an occupant driving without a driver’s licence. The subject was not located.
On November 9th, police received a complaint of a domestic dispute near Kinsella. Police attended and spoke with the victim and learned the male in question was inside the residence, police entered the residence and arrested the male. He was released from police custody with conditions and will be appearing in Vegreville Provincial Court at a later date. He will be facing charges of assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats against a person.
That evening, police received a request to check on the wellbeing of a resident in Viking as she had concerns for his mental health. Police attended and spoke with the person in question but did not have the grounds to apprehend him at this time. The complainant was updated.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre would like to warn Canadians about a new variation of the bank investigator scam. Fraudsters are impersonating financial institutions and are claiming that the victim’s bank account has been compromised. Fraudsters will convince victims that in order to protect their account until a new debit card is issued, the victim must send an Interac e-transfer transaction to their own cellphone number. The suspect will instruct the victim on the steps required to add themselves as a payee and to increase their daily Interac e-transfer limit to $10,000 (note that the maximum amount that a sender may send through the Interac
e-transfer network may vary depending on the sender’s financial institution. Interac will automatically refuse to complete any payment by a sender above the limit established by the financial institution).
The suspect provides the e-transfer question and answer that the victim must use for the transfer. Once the victim sends the Interac e-transfer transaction to their own cellphone number, suspects will ask the victim for a “code” which is the last portion of the Interac e-transfer URL/link received. If the victim provides the URL, suspects will have the ability to deposit the funds into their own account. In some cases, suspects are able to provide some of the victim’s personal information which might include name, date of birth, phone number, address and debit card number to make the call seem legitimate. Additionally, suspects are spoofing financial institution phone numbers or are providing fraudulent call-back phone numbers which impersonate the financial institution.
Other variations of the bank investigator scam:
1.) Victims receive an automated phone call claiming to be their financial institution, law
enforcement or, in some cases, Amazon advising that there have been fraudulent transactions in their account. Fraudsters will request access to the victims’ computer to continue the
“investigation”. Victims are then shown a fraudulent transaction on their online bank account.
The suspects state that they want the victims' help in an ongoing “investigation” against the
criminals who stole their money and request that the victims send funds as part of the
“investigation”.
In some cases, fraudsters will add the victim as a “payee” with a fraudulent email address and
advise that the victim must transfer a large amount of money in order to protect their account.
The fraudsters will convince the victim that they have added funds to the victim’s account but,
in reality, the funds were transferred from their line of credit or savings account.
2.) Suspects may have the victims debit card number and password, but cannot access the victim’s account due to multi-factor authentication protection on their account. Suspects then proceed to contact the victim claiming to be their financial institution and will advise the victim that they must provide a code they receive via text message or email in order to confirm their identity. The code the victim provides is the multi-factor authentication code which gives the suspects full access to their bank account.
Warning Signs – How to Protect Yourself
• Criminals use Call-Spoofing to mislead victims. Do not assume that phone numbers appearing on your call display are accurate.
• If you get an incoming call claiming to be from your financial institution, advise the caller that you will call them back. End the call and dial the number on the back of your bank debit card from a different phone if possible or wait 10 minutes before making the outgoing call.
• Never provide details of links or URL’s received via text message or email to fraudsters.
• Don’t share codes received via text message or email with anyone. In most cases, these are multifactor authentication codes that will give fraudsters access to your account.
• Fraudsters will often provide the first 4 to 6 numbers of your debit or credit card. Remember that these numbers are used to identify the card issuer and are known as the Bank Identifier Number (BIN). Most debit and credit card numbers issued by specific financial institutions begin with the same 4 to 6 numbers.
• If your personal information has been compromised in the past through a breach or a phishing message, remember that the information can be used as a tool to make the communication appear legitimate.
• Never provide remote access to your computer.
• Financial institutions or online merchants will never request transferring funds to an external
account for security reasons.
• Financial institutions or police will never request you to turn over your bank card nor attend your residence to pick up your bank card.
• Enabling Auto-Deposits for Interac e-transfers provides additional layer of security
November 8, 2025
Weekly News Update Viking RCMP
OCTOBER 28TH – NOVEMBER 3RD 2024
On October 28th, police were advised by Two Hills RCMP that they had located an abandoned vehicle in their area. They had contacted the registered owner of the vehicle, who had a Viking address, and he advised he was not aware the vehicle had been stolen from his property. Police have no suspects at this time.
That afternoon, police received a request to locate an individual who was believed to be residing in Viking. Police attended the last known residence of the person in question but learned he hadn’t lived there since July. The complainant was updated.
On October 29th, police were advised of a hit and run collision that had occurred at a local gas station. The complainant called back later to advise police could disregard as the matter had been settled with the driver’s insurance company.
Later that morning, police received a complaint of a suspicious vehicle parked on a residential street in Viking. Police spoke with the owner and learned he was in town for work purposes. The complainant was updated.
Also that day, police were advised of a suspicious vehicle that had drove onto a business lot in Bruce during the early morning hours. The complainant had security footage of the vehicle entering the property and a female exiting it and walking around the yard. The female then departed in the vehicle. Nothing was damaged or stolen.
That afternoon, police received a complaint of an attempted phone scam. The complainant advised she had received a phone call from an unknown person who claimed she had won 2 million dollars thru STARS but she would have to purchase a $500 gift card from a local gas station in order to claim her prize. Fortunately, the complainant did not comply so did not become a victim of this scam. Police would like to remind the public that you will NEVER have to pay or purchase anything in order to claim a prize won in any type of legitimate lottery.
On October 30th, police received a complaint of a theft of 2 vehicles from a property near Bruce. This matter is still under investigation.
That night, police received a call for assistance from a stranded motorist on Highway 26. The caller advised her vehicle had broke down and she did not feel safe waiting for a tow truck as her van was partially on the roadway. Police attended and provided traffic control until the tow truck arrived and removed the vehicle.
On October 31st, police received a complaint of a fraud that had occurred the week prior. The complainant advised she had received a phone call from an unknown person claiming to be with Bell Mobility. The caller offered the complainant a discounted phone package and then obtained credit card details and other personal information. A short time later, the complainant was contacted by her credit card company as there was a suspicious purchase on her account. The charge was reimbursed and the credit card was cancelled. Police are continuing to follow up on this complaint.
On November 1st, police received a complaint of a suspicious vehicle parked at a rural location near Viking. The complainant advised when he drove past the vehicle, the male driver pulled a hood over his head as if to hide his identity and then the vehicle departed the area. Police made a patrol and located the vehicle in question on Highway 36 just north of Viking. A traffic stop was conducted and after speaking with the driver, it was determined nothing criminal had occurred and he was allowed to continue on his way.
That afternoon, police received a complaint of trespassing on private property east of Viking. The complainant advised he had trail cam footage of a vehicle on his property and there was also signs that someone had been burning copper wire at the location. This matter is still under investigation.
On November 2nd, police received a report of an erratic driver eastbound on Highway 14. Patrols were made however the vehicle in question was not located.
On November 3rd, police received a report of a theft of property from a residence in Kinsella. The complainant called back later and advised the property had been returned and police could disregard her complaint.