Regina senior gets last laugh after Winnipeg man attempts to scam her out of thousands

Regina Police Service Headquarters can be seen in this file photo. (David Prisciak/CTV News)

A Winnipeg man is facing fraud and extortion charges after attempting to scam a Regina senior who ended up getting the last laugh.

Regina Police Service (RPS) says it received a report of a banking scam on Feb. 26 from a 73-year-old woman who was on her computer when it stopped working.

The woman called a number that appeared on her screen that claimed to be for “Microsoft.” After she dialed the number, she was told by the scammer that her computer, cell phone, land line, and bank account had been hacked.

According to Regina police, the woman was transferred to a person who claimed to be an employee at her bank, who told her that all her money would be sent to Russia if she didn’t withdraw it.

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The woman said the caller told her she would be arrested and charged with money laundering if she told anyone about what they asked, police said.

The caller arranged to come pick up the money from the woman’s home later that night. However, after the woman withdrew as much money as she could, she reported the incident to police, noting the time the man would be arriving at her house.

When the suspect arrived at the pre-arranged time, officers were on hand to arrest him. Police said a search of the man revealed credit cards that didn’t belong to him.

The suspect, a 27-year-old man from Winnipeg, was charged fraud over $5,000, extortion, and two counts of possession of a credit card.

He made his first court appearance on Thursday morning.