Manitoba RCMP are warning the public of fraudulent telephone calls which appear to be coming from the RCMP. The callers are told there is a warrant for their arrest and that they can take care of the warrant by making a payment via bitcoin or money transfer.
RCMP say that the fraudsters are using Caller ID spoofing, which the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes as disguising telephone numbers appearing on a caller ID display. This popular tool allows scammers to disguise their calls, as the call will appear to be coming from local or familiar numbers to trick people into answering the phone and trusting the caller. In this instance, the number displayed is a valid RCMP phone number.
“We’ve been made aware of this incident occurring a number of times this past week in Manitoba,” said Cpl. Julie Courchaine of the Manitoba RCMP. “The scam is designed to create anxiety so that victims respond by sending money quickly in order to fix the problem. We want to remind the public that the RCMP would never contact individuals through email or telephone to request payment or monetary transfers.”
If you have received similar telephones calls or know of someone who has, please contact your local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or through their online reporting tool.
