Posted:
Halifax Regional Police is advising the public of a recent increase in fraudulent phone calls where a scammer identifies themselves as a police officer, or a representative of Service Canada or the Canada Revenue Agency.
A common theme of late involves the scammer advising the victim that a warrant has been issued and the police may already be on their way to arrest them. To avoid being arrested, the victim is directed to make a payment using gift cards or by transferring money to a bitcoin account. The scammers have been using spoofing methods to disguise their phone numbers as a local number and they may know the victim’s full name and/or contact information.
Police remind citizens that no member of a police or government agency will make this type of call, and no government agency will ask for payment in bitcoin or gift cards. This is a scam and you should hang up and not provide any information or payment.
What to do if you encounter a fraud:
• Be vigilant and don’t provide any money or financial or personal information until you have verified the legitimacy of the person or the organization they claim to represent. To check the legitimacy, contact the organization directly using information from an official website.
• Check the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for information on current scams.
• Call police at 902.490.5016 if you've 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.