Victoria Police have issued a warning after a West Shore woman was caught in a Social Insurance Number scam in which the scammer claimed to be an officer for their detachment.
The woman, whose name has not yet been released, reported that she received a telephone call from a number appearing to be from VicPD.
See also: Con artists are running a ‘Steam Wallet’ gift card scam warns VicPD
The caller claimed the woman was under arrest as her SIN was used for a $100,000 fraud and drug trafficking. The woman ended the call before any money could be exchanged, and filed a report with West Shore RCMP.
This type of SIN scam has been reported throughout the Greater Victoria area, as well as nation-wide. The telephone scammers are able to falsify the caller ID display to show that they are a legitimate government agency.
Reports say the scammers have fraudulently appeared as representatives of RCMP, Service Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency, and most recently the Victoria Police Department.
In their calls, the fraudsters usually claim that the potential victim is facing immediate arrest. They are then instructed to share personal information to avoid said arrest, and eventually, they are extorted for money.
VicPD are instructing the public to report these fraud attempts to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by calling 1-888-495-8501 or online at their website here.
For more information about fraud safety you can also visit the VicPD Fraud website here.
