Photo: Castanet File Photo

Police are warning residents to use extra caution when dealing with unsolicited phone calls after a senior was scammed out of several thousand dollars.

On Feb. 7, Sicamous RCMP received a call from a senior who reported she had been scammed by an unsolicited caller who offered cheap high speed internet.

The woman told police the caller claimed to represent a major internet provider and offered to upgrade her internet free of charge.

When the senior agreed to the upgrade, the man requested access to her online banking then he claimed to have accidentally sent the woman several thousand dollars.

The scammer then informed the victim she would have to return the funds he supposedly accidentally deposited in her account.

When the victim agreed to pay back the alleged overpayment by the company, it resulted in her losing thousands of dollars.

“This scam is an example of a common overpayment fraud where a caller gets the victim to agree to a purchase and then they are told that an overpayment was made in their account,” said Sgt. Murray McNeil of the Sicamous RCMP.

“Police would like to remind the public that reputable companies would not request a customer to pay them after an overpayment of funds.

“The company could simply reverse an overpayment to the customer's account.”

He added reputable companies would also not ask for remote access to a customer's computer as was the case in this scam.

According to police the phone calls the victim received originated from overseas although some calls also had area codes from the western United States.

Police advise you to hang up and call the company directly if you receive similar phone calls.