A fraud involving Italian leather jackets that has been common in the U.S. has landed in Coquitlam.
Last month, Farrell Hannah arrived at his HSBC branch on North Road in Coquitlam when a late-model SUV pulled in beside him and the driver, described as "dark haired, swarthy-complexioned and cleanly dressed," asked for directions to the airport — even though he already seemed to know the way and could not explain why he was in Coquitlam after his "design show in Vancouver."
The man chatted with Hannah, seizing upon tenuous connections with family or friends in Europe, and offered to welcome him to Italy should he ever visit.
Emphasizing again his work as a designer, the man then began to show Hannah the leather jackets he carried in his vehicle, all wrapped individually in plastic and stored in a shopping bag. As he pulled a selection out, he estimated them to be worth $1,100 to $1,400, and proceeded to offer up free jackets for Hannah's wife and son.
"When I asked him why he was trying to do this, he said it was that they don't fit him and he likes the Irish," Hannah stated in an email to The Tri-City News.
As he opened Hannah's back door and put the jackets inside, the man then mumbled that he needed a favour — $600 for an iPad for his daughter.
After Hannah resisted, the man showed him his suitcase and flashed a passport as proof of his Italian citizenship and plans to return home imminently (other reports of this scam have the "designer" claiming he does not want to pay the duties to bring the jackets back to Italy), and grew despondent after Hannah refused to take the jackets.
"He pressured me again to take the jackets as a gift and to do a favour for him," Hannah said. "I told him that not only was the gift of jackets far too expensive for me to accept, I would never wear such jackets, noting the level of my current attire as a retiree."
It was only after Hannah turned away to go in to the bank that the man gave up and left quickly.
Coquitlam RCMP said they received a report of the leather jacket scam and it's the first incident they've heard of in Coquitlam or Port Coquitlam.
Another scam is also continuing to make the rounds, with fraudsters hoping to nab unsuspecting folks who may not know about a widespread Canada Revenue Agency hoax.
A Coquitlam woman came home on May 11 to find a message on her voicemail from "Officer Ryan Smith," notifying her of a "tax fraud suspected in your tax paper."
The caller had an aggressive tone to his voice and demanded either she or her lawyer call him back.
But there were some clues the prompted the woman to suspect it was a scam. He ended the call by identifying himself as "Officer Ryan Smith of Revenue of Canada," and a Google search of his "direct line" 1-844-553-1073 shows many others have received similar calls.
The woman, a fitness instructor who often teaches seniors, is hoping others are alerted to the scam so they don't fall prey.
"Seniors will just answer the phone, they don't have call display," she said. "It only takes one person to fall into their hands."
Coquitlam RCMP Const. Jamie Phillipson said the calls continue to circulate in the community but more people are aware that it's a scam.
The Canada Revenue Agency offers several tips on its website on how to recognize this and similar scams, including:
• If you receive a call saying you owe money to the CRA, hang up and contact CRA directly to confirm.
• Be aware the CRA does not ask for personal information via email or text, request payments by credit card or leave personal information on a voicemail.
• If in doubt, check whether you've signed up to receive emails from the CRA either on its website or on your tax form, and ask yourself whether the caller is asking for information you wouldn't provide on your tax return or for info you know they already have.
• Report suspicious calls and/or emails to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or 1-888-495-8501.
spayne@tricitynews.com
@spayneTC
spayne@tricitynews.com
@spayneTC
