Thompson RCMP are investigating an incident in which a scammer pretended to be a Canada Revenue Agency and then an RCMP officer in an attempt to defraud a Thompson resident out of a large amount of money.
The scammer initially called and told the intended victim that his social insurance number had been compromised and that there was now a warrant for his arrest. The scammer then called back posing as an RCMP officer and told the person that he would have to send a large amount of money through the mail. The second call spoofed the Thompson RCMP detachment phone number in an attempt to make the call appear legitimate. Spoofing is a technique in which scammers falsify caller ID information to make it appear that the call is coming from a local number, company or government agency that the victim may know and trust.
The victim was told to wrap the package containing the money to look like a birthday present and send it though the mail but a family member noticed something was off and asked the victim what they were doing. The victim explained the situation and the family member recognized it as a scam, preventing the package from being mailed and reporting the incident to the RCMP.
RCMP say they and other government agencies, including Service Canada, will never call to ask for or demand money for any reason. If you receive such a call, you should hang up and call the police back yourself using publicly-accessible contact details. Anyone who receives a call such as this or who suspects they may have been a victim of fraud should contact their local police detachment or the Canadian Anti-Fraud centre at 1-888-495-8501.
For more tips and information about current scams and how to protect yourself, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website at https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm.
