Secret Shopper fraud alert issued by Hinton RCMP

The Hinton RCMP have received numerous reports of a secret shopper mail scam circulating in the Hinton area.

Typically, victims are sent a cheque and letter by mail. They are instructed to deposit the cheque into their bank account, use some of the funds to complete a few simple errands then forward a large portion of the funds back via a wire transfer service.

Ultimately, the victims learn that the cheque is fraudulent and are held responsible for the funds withdrawn from their account.


The Hinton RCMP would like to remind the general public that there are many forms of fraud circulating through the mail and internet. For more information regarding fraud in Canada, please contact The Canadian Anti- Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.

If you have any information regarding this or any other investigation, please contact the Hinton RCMP at 780 -865-2455 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-422-TIPS (8477).

Editor's note: Although this is a Hinton story and therefore out of the Pincher Creek Voice's normal range for coverage, frauds like this one have a tendancy to travel quickly to other communities, so we are presenting this here as a public service.