Recently, Shaunavon RCMP have noticed a spike in electronic scams.

Sergeant Dan Archibald with the Shaunavon Detachment explains one that's resulting in thousands of dollars being lost. He says, "A majority of the scams involve the suspect contacting the victim in response to an online add or posting. The suspect asks the victim to pay for something like shipping costs before the goods are exchanged. The suspect then promises to pay the asking price plus the additional costs that were incurred, but the victim is left having sent money for nothing."

Archibald says, on average, they are having people in the Shaunavon area reporting scams like this at least once a week.

Other popular scams include being contacted by someone claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency or the Police, requesting money or personal financial information and making threats of arrest or warrants being issued.

RCMP are reminding the public that the CRA and the Police do not request that kind of information over the phone and you should never provide financial information over the phone or online unless you know for certain who you are talking to.