Another telephone scam in Saanich prompted the police to issue a reminder to the public to always be wary of people who ask for money over the phone.
This time, however, the scammer did not say they were from the CRA. Instead, they claimed to be a police officer and asserted that the target’s son was at court because of a car accident.
Unfortunately, the victim did not realize it was a scam – he purchased several gift cards and told the scammer their serial numbers as instructed.
These types of scams are growing more and more common, and Saanich Police are reminding people that “if you suspect that you may be a target of fraud, or if you have already sent funds, don’t be embarrassed – you’re not alone”.
See also: CRA scammers con Victoria man into giving them $11,000
Keep in mind
Here are some tips recommended by the men and women in blue to help protect yourself and loved ones from falling prey to such scams:
- Be extra cautious about calls, emails etc from the Canada Revenue Agency. The CRA will not threaten to arrest you or ask you to divulge personal information, financial information or ask you to pay them in gift cards, prepaid credit cards or Bitcoin.
- Don’t be fooled by the promise of a valuable prize in return for a low-cost purchase.
- Be aware of calls, emails or mailings offering international bonds or lottery tickets, a portion of a foreign dignitary’s bank account, free vacations, credit repair or schemes with unlimited income potential.
- Don’t be afraid to hang up the phone, delete the email or close your Internet connection.
- Be aware of “job offers” that have you receiving funds into your bank account and then
directing those funds to company representative. - Don’t purchase a product or service without carefully checking out the product, service and company.
- Don’t be afraid to request further documentation from the caller so you can verify the
validity of the company. - Don’t disclose personal information about your finances, bank accounts, credit cards, social insurance and driver’s license numbers to any business that can’t prove it is legitimate.
- Shred unwanted personal information such as bank statements, credit card bills, unwanted receipts, cheques, pre-approved credit applications and old tax returns.
See also: Here’s how to protect yourself against CRA scams
