CALGARY, Alberta, April 19 (UPI) -- The Canadian police chief of Calgary, Alberta, is warning of an e-mail scam using his name to solicit money.
Complaints and questions began coming in to the force Sunday about the e-mail messages from a Yahoo account claiming to be from Chief Rick Hanson, Global TV reported.
The fraudster claims the recipient has been left a multi-million-dollar inheritance and a fee has to be paid to cover processing costs, the Calgary Herald said.
The force issued a release cautioning people to ignore claims Hanson had endorsed the message.
"All of the e-mails indicated the victim should ignore the Calgary Police Service's direction not to send money, as Chief Hanson had personally validated the inheritance," the release said.
The messages use real pictures and logos from the police force and even genuine phone numbers, the Herald said.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Center in Ottawa told Global TV there is no record of anyone using Hanson's name or title in the past.
