A Winkler area man avoided losing thousands of dollars to a scam thanks to the quick thinking of management and staff at a local store.

Winkler Police report the man had received a phone call from scammers pretending to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, claiming the individual needed to pay his tax debt with i-Tunes cards.

The man purchased $4,700 worth of i-Tunes cards from a local store and was on the phone with the scammer when store staff summoned the manager who intervened before the customer could provide the activation numbers.

While it was a close call, Winkler Police say there have been other incidents where the scammers have been successful. Police are working with the Chamber of Commerce to alert members of the scam and asking stores train their staff to spot the scam.

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Below is the Winkler Police Report for the week of July 18th to July 24th as submitted by the Winkler Police Service.

Our police service opened 88 files during the past week.  The following are some of those files.

July 18th: A resident of Sunset Drive reported money stolen from his unlocked vehicle overnight.

A vehicle was reported stolen from an industrial parking lot, where it had been parked for sometime awaiting repairs.  The missing vehicle is a white 1996 Pontiac Grand Am, with licence HJD 903.  Anyone with knowledge of this incident is asked to call our police service.

July 19th: At approximately 2:39 a.m., officers received a call from a male who stated he and several friends were walking on Royal Crescent playing Pokemon Go when they observed a male exit his house carrying a baseball bat. The man was interviewed by officers at which time he explained that he observed a group of about five males standing at the end of his driveway, and he thought they were going to break into his car.  The male was not familiar with the game Pokemon Go.  The group of males were also addressed by officers, and advised to stay off of private property.

Shortly before 3:00 p.m., officers recognized a 22 year old male muttering to himself as he stumbled along the sidewalk on Stanley Avenue.  He appeared to be intoxicated and as officers approached to speak with him he let out a loud yell and punched a wooden fence.  He was taken into custody without further incident and lodged in custody to sober up.  He was released at 3:00 a.m., and given a ride to his residence.

July 20th: During the noon hour, a 13 year old youth attended our office to report that his bike had just been stolen from the Winkler Library.  

July 21st: A resident of Pineview Drive reported his vehicle rummaged through overnight.  Stolen from the vehicle was a wallet containing a Credit Card.

July 22nd: A Winkler area man has likely escaped a heavy loss thanks to management and staff at the Superstore this morning. Winkler and area residents have been plagued recently with calls from scammers purporting to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, with the latest ploy being to threaten victims unless they pay their tax debts with iTune cards.  In this case the victim purchased $4700.00 worth of iTune cards at the Superstore, and was on the phone with the scammer when staff summoned the manager who was able to intervene before the activation numbers were provided to the scammer.  After previous incidents earlier this week in which scammers were successful, (at other stores) our office worked together with the Winkler Chamber of Commerce to disseminate a bulletin to members warning them of the scam, and requesting retailers to train staff accordingly to prevent further losses to victims.

We would like to thank the Winkler Chamber for their quick response in getting the message to their members, and to the Superstore for doing their part.  The process is underway, spearheaded by management at the Superstore to facilitate a full refund to the victim.

July 23rd: Several calls were received in short succession shortly before midnight, advising of a loud party at the corner of Main Street and Peters Avenue. When officers arrived at the host yard, approximately 25 to 30 young people were observed running from the yard in all directions.  Officers learned from the hosting  parent that the party was for a 16 year old daughter who had invited a small group of her friends, and that most of those in attendance had shown up uninvited.  According to the parent, alcohol had not been approved.  Officers located several open cases of beer on the fringes of the property and on the street which the parent said did not belong to them.  During the process of bringing the party under control, one 17 year old youth stumbled towards officers obviously to intoxicated to care for himself. The youth was taken into custody until his parents arrived to take him home. The youth was charged under the Liquor and Gaming Control Act for consuming liquor underage.  

A second incident occurred when officers received a call from a neighbor who stated that he observed several people attempting to gain access to a locked vehicle on the street. This vehicle had been ticketed for a parking violation earlier in the evening, at which time a quantity of abandoned liquor was seized from in and around the vehicle. Officers attended and while dealing with it observed two males pacing on the street nearby.  When the tow truck arrived one of the males became extremely aggressive and belligerent towards police, shouting and swearing as he questioned police authority while refusing to identify himself. The male could not be reasoned with and after numerous explanations and warnings to quiet down, he was advised he was under arrest.  The young man failed to comply and walked away together with his friend.  He was followed by the officer until a second officer arrived. Still refusing to comply with police demands, he was physically arrested while his friend made a wiser decision and did not get involved.  An 18 year old resident of Plum Coulee is charged with Causing a Disturbance and Resisting Arrest. He later stated that alcohol consumption was the reason for his poor decisions. He was released on a Promise to Appear.

Bicycles

In total this week, seven bicycle thefts were reported, as opposed to one report of a found bike. The found bike has been checked against our records of stolen bicycles; however a match was not found.

To date this year we have received 31 reports of stolen bicycles. Currently we have 21 unclaimed bicycles in storage. If you are missing a bicycle you may file a report and we will check our inventory for you.  Please protect yourself against a bicycle theft and remember to lock it up when left unattended.

For up-to-date information and tips, etc, find us on Facebook at Winkler Police Service and @winklerpolice on Twitter and Instagram.