Winnipeg Police are once again warning the public about a group of scammers that are targeting Winnipeg phone numbers.
Police say that scammers are once again claiming to be criminal investigators and that money is owed to the Canada Revenue Agency. The caller then tells the victim to call Winnipeg Police on their non-emergency line to confirm the investigation is happening. The scammer stays on the line however and then pretends to be a member of the WPS and attempts to convince the victim to transfer money.
In some cases the calls appear to be coming from the Winnipeg Police service non emergency number (204) 986-6222.
Police say that is is important to be cautious of unexpected callers and to discuss these types of scams with family and friends.
Tips to avoid being scammed
If you get an unexpected call from a bank or other agency take reasonable steps to confirm their identity. Tell them you will call them back and then look up the number from a reliable source.
Government agencies will never demand immediate payment by interaction, e-transfer, bitcoin, prepaid credit cards or gift cards.
They will never use aggressive or abusive language or threaten you with arrest. They will never tell you the police are on the way.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
This scam has been going on for years and although the phone numbers appear to be Canadian the callers are often calling from India or other countries. The RCMP have been involved in taking down 40 call centres in India that have been responsible for the scam. The scam is associated with organized crime.
According to The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre there were 68,452 scams like these reported reported in 2020 with more than 40,600 victims. Scammers were able to steal more than $106 million from the unsuspecting victims.
In the month of January 2021 alone there were 4,833 reports of fraud with 3,313 victims who lost $10.1 million.
The best way to avoid all types of phone scams is to hang up.
You can report a scam to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
© News4.ca 2021
