BOGUS fraud agents cruelly targeted a shop worker with a rare hereditary disorder to steal $5,200 from her bank account.

They hounded the woman, who has already battled two brain tumors, with repeated phone calls, she said.

Emma Mann enjoys living independently, but was targeted by cruel fraudstersCredit: CBC

Fortunately, Scotiabank has reimbursed the stolen $5,200 in CanadaCredit: Getty

Emma Mann, a Halifax woman with cognitive impairment, told CBC that her independence had been threatened by the scammers.

“I’m angry, sad, [and] embarrassed that I can’t pay my bills,” she told the Canadian broadcaster last week.

Scotiabank has confirmed that it has since fully reimbursed her of the $5,200 fleeced from her account.

Mann, who lives in an apartment and works part-time at a local grocery store, has Gorlin syndrome, which can affect every organ system of the human body.

She had two tumors removed from her brain by the age of two.

The rare disease – about 11,000 people in the US have been diagnosed with it – means Mann is at increased risk of developing basal cell carcinoma (BCC) skin cancers and non-cancerous tumors, according to the Gorlin Syndrome Alliance.

Mann was tricked by someone pretending to work at her bank, Scotiabank.

The sham agents phoned her to claim there were fraudulent charges on her account.

She described feeling scared of them, because they repeatedly phoned and ordered her to comply with their criminal demands.

“They made me feel… like they were really Scotiabank,” she said.

The thieves told her to fix the non-existent problem by spending thousands of dollars on an assortment of gift cards, said her mom, Tracie Mann.

She spent six hours in total, wasting her hard-earned cash buying dozens of gift cards at various Halifax shops.

The thieves then conned her into giving them the cards’ activation codes.

“She’s used to doing what she wants… getting on the bus and going shopping, doing fun things, and now they’ve emptied her bank account,” said her mom.

Her daughter wanted to share her story in the hope of warning other “young people with disabilities, to say, ‘this can happen, and it can change your life really fast’,” she added.

REIMBURSED

Scotiabank told the broadcaster that it has since fully repaid the money stolen because of the theft.

But the case is typical of such bank account scams, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center.

For example, the fraudster contacts account-holders, claiming to be bank investigators.

They might trick victims by asking for help to catch a bank employee who has been stealing money.

Or, as in Mann’s case, they could claim to be helping to resolve suspicious transactions on bank accounts.

Canadians had more than $11 million stolen by the latter method last year alone, said the centre’s spokesman Jeff Horncastle.

“This type of fraud typically starts off as an automated phone call or a robocall advising the target or the victim that there has been a couple of fraudulent transactions on their bank account or credit card or even their Amazon account,” he explained.

AVOID SCAMS

The agency has shared a range of tips to stop people from becoming yet another victim of fraud.

Victims are sometimes directed to dial *72 followed by a phone number. Don’t do this, as it will forward all incoming phone calls to the fraudsters.

Fraudsters will often provide the first four numbers of your debit or credit card – to fool you into believing they are genuine bank employees.

“Calls from ‘bank investigator’ fraudsters tend to happen early in the morning when a victim is still sleeping or not alert,” the centre added.

However, financial institutions or online merchants will never request transferring funds to an external account for security reasons.

“Financial institutions or police will never request you to turn over your bank card nor attend your residence to pick up your bank card,” it said.

To add further confusion, criminals do use call-spoofing to mislead victims.

So, don’t assume the phone numbers appearing on your call display are accurate, and provide personal and financial information.

Also, never provide remote access to your computer.

“If you get an incoming call claiming to be from your financial institution, advise the caller that you will call them back,” it said.

“End the call and dial the number on the back of your card from a different phone if possible or wait 10 minutes before making the outgoing call.”

Scotiabank has been contacted for further comment.