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Alberni Valley Minor Hockey falls victim to e-mail scam

Association issues warning, demands fake site be deleted
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The Alberni Valley Minor Hockey Association has posted a message about a fraudulent e-mail circulating asking for donations and using fake information that seems to be from the AVMHA. SUSAN QUINN PHOTO

If you receive an e-mail from Alberni Valley Minor Hockey asking for donations to “Save Mike”, a member’s son supposedly needing medical treatment in the UK, don’t send money: it’s a scam, says AVMHA president Al McCulloch.

Association members began receiving e-mails late last week asking for donations from what looked like two e-mail addresses from fellow association members. Except they weren’t.

“They scammed the graphic of our association right off our website and made up phony e-mails that don’t pertain to us,” McCulloch said. The e-mail apparently had a graphic of a toddler in hospital and the logo for fundly.com.

“It’s not real. We don’t know who these people are,” he added.

“AVMHA does not use any e-mail addresses with @avmha.com,” website administrator Roxanne Leyland wrote in a message to members. “AVMHA did not have any prior knowledge of this solicitation for donations.”

The site was created using fundly.com, a free crowdfunding site. McCulloch contacted the website and told them they needed to take the fraudulent post down. As of Friday night, the only “Save Mike” post on fundly.com was for someone’s vet bills for a German shepherd.

Anyone with questions for the AVMHA regarding correspondence or content from their website or Facebook page can contact Leyland at avmha.webadmin@shaw.ca.

Have you been the victim of a scam? Find more information from the RCMP on how to report scams by visiting this website: www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/rep-sig-eng.htm.

editor@albernivalleynews.com



Susie Quinn

About the Author: Susie Quinn

A journalist since 1987, I proudly serve as the Alberni Valley News editor.
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