Kamloops RCMP is warning residents over the latest scams that are hitting the city.
According to police, since December began, officers have responded to a variety of fraud reports ranging from Bitcoin deposits, unauthorized transactions and scammers posing as legitimate business representatives.
In one recent report, a victim thought they were ordering holiday products. During the call, the victim gave out their personal information including their credit card and social insurance numbers.
"It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, fraudsters are always coming up with ways to scare people out of their money," said Constable Crystal Evelyn. "While some scams remain popular at all times of the year, others can change with the seasons."
Another fraudster swindled a resident out of $5,000 in Bitcoin by convincing them that their SIN had been used in a Canada Revenue Agency scam for money laundering. The scammer claimed the only way to keep the issue out of court was to send money.
Days later, the same person was contacted by someone posing as a police officer who told them they needed to deposit money into a Bitcoin machine to avoid arrest.
"A real police officer or CRA agent would never ask for money to be transferred to avoid arrest or on behalf of your relative," said Cst. Evelyn. "Please, if you get a call like this, no matter what you’re told on the phone, do your own investigation and call a number you know to belong to your local detachment and real police officers or agency representatives."
Other scams reported included credit cards being taken out in someone else’s name, cheque frauds, tech support requiring payment by credit card and more.
If you believe you've been victim of a scam, click here.
