Police are reminding Guelphites to beware of calls from people they don’t know after a woman was scammed out of thousands of dollars.
According to Guelph police, a 27-year-old woman went to the police station on November 22 to report the scam, explaining that she had received a call that same day from someone claiming to be from the Canadian Border Services Agency.
In that call, police say, the person on the other end of the line said a package with his name had been received and contained “materials consistent with traffic,” according to a press release from the Guelph Police Service.
“The caller warned that the woman would be arrested unless she paid a fine of $ 8,050 through Bitcoin,” the statement added.
While still on the phone with the caller, the victim attended a downtown business with a Bitcoin ATM and deposited $ 7,750. He did not deposit the rest because he became suspicious of the person on the phone. “
Police say the phone number used to call the victim was found to be out of order and there are no viable investigative leads, adding that “payments made via Bitcoin or other crypto currencies are nearly untraceable. “.
To avoid falling victim to a similar scam, the police advise the following:
• Do not give any information to a caller you do not know.
• Do not click on the links provided or follow the instructions of someone you do not know.
• If the caller claims to be from an agency such as Canadian Border Services or Canada Revenue Agency, hang up and call the agency directly before following the instructions. Find the number yourself instead of using a number provided by the caller.
• The caller will use various means, including threats, to try to force you to act quickly. Do not be fooled.
• No government agency will require payment by gift cards or crypto currency. If they ask, hang up.
Reference-www.thestar.com