Vancouver victim suffers huge losses in Bitcoin phone scam
Source: Craig Take Release Time: 04:03:06 2019-12-02
In this version of the scam, the callers appear to be from the CRA Service Canada, or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and claim that the victim’s Social Insurance Number (SIN) card has been compromised.
In another variation, the caller says the victim either owes money to the CRA or is eligible for a cash refund, and that the local police will call within the hour. When the call does come through, the number will appear as a local police number through a technique called ID spoofing, in which a fake number is displayed while the real phone number is hidden.
The caller may also try to convince the victim to provide a credit card number or to pay off the amount by purchasing gift cards or Bitcoins, and may also threaten the victim with being arrested.
Nanaimo RCMP state that many of these calls originate in South Asia and sometimes other scammers can be heard in the background making similar calls to other victims.
The caller then asks for the victim’s SIN card number.
Anyone who receives a scam call should hang up.
To report deceptive or suspicious telemarketing, call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or visit their website. Anyone who has been a victim of fraud should call their local police.
