A senior living in the Kootenays wants to warn others after becoming victim to a months-long scam. 

When the phone first rang last August, the 77-year-old Montrose resident (who wishes to remain anonymous) didn鈥檛 suspect a thing. 

He was being contacted with good news. A man named James Cooper told him he had won a contest: $950,000 in cash, a briefcase with $150,000 USD inside, and a brand-new Mercedes-Benz pickup truck.

The only catch was some minor fees to release the funds.

At first, he was told to just send $400 on a prepaid Visa card to cover taxes on the American money. But it didn鈥檛 stop there. 

That first payment opened the floodgates to months of manipulation. Next, they asked for more money to cover storage and license fees for the truck, claiming all investments would be given back in the end. 

The scammers even dropped the names of community leaders like Nelson Mayor Janice Morrison and Creston Mayor Arnold DeBoon to add credibility to their claims.

鈥淭hey said Arnold stopped the truck in Creston, and he was hanging on to the package,鈥� said the victim. 

Someone even started calling him with reassurances, saying he was DeBoon himself. 

Over the next several months, the victim was asked to send more money again and again. He transferred thousands directly to a woman he was told was a legal secretary named Natalie Brown. 

鈥淚 did stupid things,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 went and got money out of my personal line of credit.鈥�

Their stories became more elaborate, involving more fake identities and multiple phone numbers.

鈥淭here were several other people involved,鈥� the victim said. 鈥淭his guy by the name of Patrick was supposed to be working in a high security warehouse in Nelson, where the truck was stored. Janice (Nelson鈥檚 mayor) came on the phone asking me for $2,000 and threatened to fire him.鈥�

Eventually, the RCMP and his bank warned him he was being scammed. But by that point, he had already lost over $54,000.

The last time he was on the phone with the scammers in April, they promised to bring back his money if he sent just $500 more. 

鈥淚 said no, enough of this. I told him you're not Arnold DeBoon, and he did not like that because I've never got a phone call back since,鈥� he said. 

In what was already a difficult year for this man, he also lives alone after the recent passing of his wife and relies on his pension. 

Despite the loss, he has taken steps to protect himself. He鈥檚 changed his bank account number, added call-blocking features to his phone, and is working with his bank to try to recover what he can 鈥� though he doesn鈥檛 expect much.

鈥淚'm going to have to pay that $14,000 back on my line of credit,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way around it. It's water under the bridge. I can't do nothing about it.鈥�