Typical phone scams updated with virtual currency
If you get a call from a ‘government agency’ that’s asking for a payment in Bitcoin to solve your problem, it’s a scam.
RCMP in Coquitlam have received a number of complaints about fraudsters who claim to work for either Canada Revenue Agency or the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. In each case, the caller threatens legal consequences (including deportation and arrest for unpaid taxes) unless you pay a sum of money immediately.
Evan Kelly, Senior Communications Advisor for the Better Business Bureau for BC Mainland tells a story about a woman who was recently swindled in Langley. "A woman received a call from someone claiming to be from local RCMP and said her husband had been arrested and they need $5000 to bail him out and they wanted payment in bitcoin." "So this woman was out $5000 and about 10 minutes later she got a called from her husband, who was nowhere near prison."
Some criminals prefer using Bitcoin because transactions are very difficult to trace. Chances are that if you send money via Bitcoin you will never get it back.
There are reportedly 2 bitcoin ATMs located in Kelowna at 526 Bernard Ave and at 1525 Dilworth Drive.
Here are some tips to protect yourself from fraudsters posing as government workers:
- The government does not send you a text message when you owe money
- The government will not pressure you to pay a fine in minutes or hours
- The government does not accept payment in Bitcoin, gift cards or prepaid credit cards
- Government agencies do not demand that you keep a conversation secret from your spouse, your family, or the police
- Do not trust the number on your call display. Phone numbers are often ‘spoofed.’ To make sure that you’re dealing with a legitimate organization, hang up and call back using a phone number that you get from a reputable source
- Criminals try to bolster their credibility by showing you they already know some of your personal information. Don’t share more personal information, including banking information, over the phone
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre Canadians have been swindled of 1.7 million dollars involving cryptocurrencies this year, almost double the numbers from 2016.
