Police are investigating a case of fraud that saw a local employee refund tools into his personal account for months.

Winkler Police say they were advised of an internal fraud that took place over the last two years at a local home improvement store. The fraud involved a male employee refunding items that he had not purchased to his own personal accounts. The total amount refunded over the two year period was approximately $110,000. Police say the file is still under investigation.

"It's certainly a pretty serious situation there, thankfully it's not going to continue," Chief Ryan Hunt says. "Thankfully they caught it finally."

It's one incident in a wave of recent thefts and scams that have plagued the Winkler area.

On June 13 an employee of a local church reported her computer had been hacked and the church’s banking information had been accessed. Two e-transfers in the amount of $1970 each had been sent, however one of the e-transfers was still pending and the complainant immediately cancelled the transfer. The complainant had already advised the church’s banking institution of the fraud.

Police report an elderly couple were also nearly scammed out of $850 last week after receiving a phone call from a man claiming to be with Publishers Clearing House. The male advised the couple that they won a vehicle but were required to pay an $850 delivery charge via Western Union, which they paid. Police confirmed the couple did not provide any banking or credit card information to the fraudster, and later learned that the couple was able to reverse the Western Union money transfer.

The couple stated shortly after the scam they also received a scam phone call from an individual claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, but they did not provide any information.

On June 14, an elderly female received a phone call from an individual claiming to be from the 'Do not call list' and was asked to provide her debit card number, which she did. Afterward the female realized she should not have provided the number, and was subsequently advised to contact her banking institution regarding the compromised debit card.

On June 15, a local business reported that a portable generator was stolen from a building on the business’s property sometime within the previous two weeks. There were no signs of damage or forced entry to the building.

Police received a report of a manhole cover that was stolen from a commercial property on 1st Street. The complainant advised police that this is the third time the manhole cover has been stolen.

A report was received of a commercial riding lawn mower, worth approximately $20,000, that was stolen sometime during the night while parked in an open area of a local business. This file is still under investigation.