Posted:
Police are warning citizens of a phone scam where callers are posing as representatives of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Halifax Regional Police (HRP).
Investigators in the Financial Crime Unit of the Integrated Criminal Investigation Division are investigating reports of scammers calling citizens and representing themselves as being from CBSA and HRP. The callers advise the citizen that someone has brought illegal items into the country using the citizen’s identity and tell them that they must immediately make a payment by bitcoin or they will be arrested. The callers appear to be calling from valid phone numbers; however, they are using computer programs to disguise or “spoof” their phone numbers as legitimate CBSA and HRP numbers.
Police want to assure citizens that police and CBSA will never reach out to anyone in this manner and demand payment.
What to do if you receive this scam phone call:
- Hang up immediately. Do not provide any personal or banking information or any form of payment.
- Call police at 902.490.5016 if you have lost money or your identity has been compromised as a result of a fraud. You can report a scam where you haven’t been a victim to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
More information is available at:
- Beware of scams using false CBSA credentials
- Protect yourself against fraud (CBSA)
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (information on current scams)