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By Dave Barry

Scams

Fraudsters taking advantage of Kamloops residents

Dec 23, 2021 | 6:13 AM

KAMLOOPS – Christmas is supposed to bring the best out in people. But sadly, it can also bring out the worst. RCMP in Kamloops are warning residents to be wary of scams that can quickly ruin your holiday cheer.

In one case, a local victim believed they were ordering products from a legitimate and well known communications provider. During their phone call, they offered up personal information such as a credit card number and a social insurance number.

“It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, fraudsters are always coming up with ways to scare people out of their money,” said Constable Crystal Evelyn, Kamloops RCMP spokesperson. “While some scams remain popular at all times of the year, others can change with the seasons.”

Bitcoin scams seem to be popular this Christmas. RCMP say a local resident lost thousands of dollars in Bitcoin when a caller convinced them their social insurance number had been used in a money laundering scam. They were told to pay a $5,000 penalty to avoid going to court against the Canada Revenue Agency.

In another case, a scam artist posed as a police officer in a phone call and convinced the victim to deposit money in a Bitcoin machine to avoid being arrested.

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“A real police officer or CRA agent would never ask for money to be transferred to avoid arrest on behalf of your relative,” said Cst. Evelyn. “Please, if you get a call like this, no matter what you’re told on the phone, do your own investigation and call a number you know to belong to your local detachment and real police officers or agency representatives.”

If you believe you are a victim of fraud, you should call the Kamloops RCMP detachment immediately. If you have been able to avoid a fraudster and have information related to the scam, you should report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1 888-495-8501.

The RCMP have released links to a number of websites that are meant to protect Canadians from becoming a victim of fraud. The website links are below:

https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/scams-fraudes/phishing-hameconnage-eng.htm

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/security/protect-yourself-against-fraud.html

https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/en/blogs/phishing-introduction

https://cba.ca/email-fraud-phishing https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/campaigns/covid19.html