Counterfeit cheques in Stephenville point to international fraud scam: RCMP

Police have issued a warning after a suspected scam in Stephenville, where a woman was duped into allowing counterfeit cheques to be deposited into her bank account so she could withdraw the money and send it to a man outside Canada.

"If it seems too good to be true, or you're a little bit suspicious about what somebody's saying to you, whether it be online or on the telephone, I would not act," said Cpl. John Butler of the Bay St. George RCMP.

Police said a bank in the town alerted them to the "international fraudulent activity" Wednesday evening after red-flagging the cheques as fake.

"He was able to gain her trust enough that he was able to arrange to make these deposits into her account," said Butler.

"She was then supposed to withdraw money, based on the fact that they were good cheques, and forward them to him."

Butler said it's not known yet whether the 37-year-old woman is out any money of her own.

He said their initial investigation showed the man's name, possibly connected to a European country, is known to police as being linked to scams in the past, and officers are continuing to look into the matter.