Think Matchstick Men meets Worm from Rounders, just live.
Scammers tried to get a Canadian man involved in an elaborate game of poker, and in this case it really was rigged. As far as we know, at least one tradesman from Victoria, Canada almost fell in the trap.
As Detective Rick Anthony elaborated, the tradesman was contacted by the scammers who told him that their “company” was interested in the tradesman help for a big project. Therefore, the tradesman was asked to meet and elaborate on it.
The meeting was set up in a conference room in Victoria, Canada. All the attendants looked fairly professional, dressed in business suits and whatnot. They went to painstaking methods to make it all look legit.
Once the tradesman arrived, they told him that the project lead was running late. In the room, there was a seemingly innocent game of poker going on, with matches, sugar packets, and toothpicks and bubblegum as stakes. They ask him to join the game.
Initially, the tradesman refused, but he was then informed that the project lead would take up to an hour to arrive, and he was literally given the cards of one of the participants of the poker game who went to the washroom.
The first hand that was given to the tradesman was rigged to win, and then he was suckered into playing more hands. The hands were being played quickly.
At long last, a phone call was received telling the men that the project lead would not arrive that day and that the meeting had to be rescheduled. It was at that moment that the group turned to the tradesman indicating him that he owed them at least $2500. According to Detective Rick Anthony, intimidation was used at this point.
The tradesman, as noted in the statement given to the police, informed the scammers that he did not have the money with him on hand, and that the alleged winner would have to come by his office to collect his check. At that point, the tradesman had already come to the conclusion that he had been scammed, and had absolutely no intention to pay. When the alleged winner arrived at his office to collect, he refused to pay.
The scammer who came to collect then drove off quickly. The tradesman did note the license plate of the scammer’s vehicle. The police have been given this info but so far it has yielded no suspects.
It is sad what it has come down to, but in all things involving cash, there will always be wise guys around trying to outfox others and taking their cash in the process by illicit means.
Moral of this story: Always keep your guard up. In the words of Harry Potter’s Alastor “Mad Eye” Moody: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!