The 108 Mile Ranch Volunteer Fire Department is warning residents about a scam using their name.
On social media last week the department warned the communities of 108 Mile Ranch, Lac La Hache, 100 Mile House and surrounding areas that "an individual has been going door to door in town soliciting donations for the 108 Mile Ranch and Lac La Hache Fire Departments."
"Neither the 108 or Lac La Hache solicits donations door to door," the Facebook post states.
Chris Haddad, the fire chief of the 108 Mile Ranch VFD, states that he was made aware of the scam after a former member of the VFD was solicited by the person for donations. Haddad says he has no idea about who is doing this.
"I do know a bunch of people in town had this individual come and ask for donations," he said. "I don't like our name being used for something that's fraudulent."
The Cariboo Regional District funds 14 volunteer fire departments, including the 108 Mile Ranch VFD and the Lac La Hache VFD. They are funded through property taxes collected from residents living in the departments' fire protection areas. The CRD said they are not aware of any other incidents of this apparent scam, but say people should be suspicious of unsolicited donations.
Sgt. Brian Lamb of the 100 Mile House RCMP stated that they have received only one report from 100 Mile House regarding this scam and encourage anyone with additional knowledge to reach out to the police. As of publication, the RCMP has yet to arrest any suspect, however, charges of fraud and false impersonation are anticipated should they identify a suspect.
Lamb states that these types of scams are not uncommon during disasters or wildfire season.
"Fraudsters will just take up that cause, and obviously, go door-to-door looking for donations, they may even look legitimate, and whatnot. But that being said, it would be fraud," Lamb explained. "It could be impersonation, there could be several criminal code offences that would apply to a situation like that."
A similar incident involving an individual claiming to be with South Cariboo Search and Rescue also occurred near the end of July. Search manager Val Severin said that while SCSAR is a registered charity that accepts donations, they do not go door to door asking for them.
"Residents are encouraged to exercise caution and contact SCSAR to arrange donations," Severin said.
It is unknown if these two incidents are related.
The 108 VFD is urging residents that if they encounter a man who asking for donations on their behalf to immediately phone the RCMP at 250-395-2456. They also urge people to spread the word about the scam.
Lamb said that the more reports RCMP receive the more likely they are to identify the suspect(s).
"If they have things like surveillance or photos of that nature that could assist that would really help us in identifying the persons responsible."
