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Police are alerting Islanders to an email scam involving false accusations of internet crimes against children.
The emails appear to be from the RCMP, and say the person receiving it is under investigation for visiting banned websites tied to child sexual abuse material.
The scammer tells the recipient they will be registered as a sex offender and have their name on TV if they do not pay a fine.
“This is meant to maximize the fear … the anxiety in their victims. To accuse somebody to be involved in this type of material makes victims extremely anxious,” said Cpl. Gavin Moore, media relations officer for the P.E.I. RCMP.
“The hope is that when people are knocked off balance like this, that they will react before they think.”
Moore said police will never issue legal notices by email and any fines are always payable at a courthouse, not directly to police. He said this type of scam has been going on for years, though he’s unaware of any victims who have actually sent money as a result of the emails.
Moore said scammers can reach thousands of people over email at once and inexpensively.
“This is fraudsters who make a living by defrauding victims,” Moore told CBC News. “Even if a very small percentage of those who receive this believe it is real, they still are able to extract funds.”
The scam emails typically use legal jargon, police designs and cite real laws to appear legitimate.
Moore said Islanders should be wary of any emails that seem to be from RCMP. He said police will meet with a person face-to-face when serving criminal charges so they can confirm before a court that a document was actually served.
“It’s important to stop, to take a breath and ask yourself, is it possible that this is a scam?” Moore said.
He said Islanders should report any suspected scams to local police.
