RED DEER -- Two different organizations have reported multiple people received an email that appeared to be from a colleague, but the email was found to be fraudulent and not from the person it appeared to be sent by, Mounties said.

The recipients were asked to buy gift cards as a favour to the sender, RCMP added.

Mounties told residents to verify unusual emails or calls, that prepaid credit cards or gift cards are commonly used in fraud, and to not provide personal information on the phone or online.

Police are asking the public to report all fraud attempts even if the attempts were unsuccessful.