Police are warning of a new phone scam.
Officers are investigating a new scam that has been reported in Edson and Grande Prairie where the perpetrator impersonates an RCMP member in order to gain remote access to their computers.
Cpl. Chris Warren could not be more clear about that: this is not something the police would ever, ever do.
“The RCMP will never contact you by phone and request you to act as an agent on our behalf.
RCMP will never contact you and request remote access to your computer. When in doubt, obtain all of the caller’s information, hang up, and attend your nearest RCMP detachment.”
Three investigations in Edson and Mclennan detachment areas have recently surfaced, he wrote in a press release.
The scammer contacts potential victims by telephone posing as an RCMP member with the “Cyber Crime Unit” conducting an investigation.
“The suspect will have victims download software allowing remote access to their computer,” according to Warren. “Once completed the suspect will then commit fraud through money transfers or Google Play cards. In one investigation the suspect advised the victim that he would place $40,000 in their account to “trap the bad guys.”
Here are some additional safety tips:
- No legitimate government agency or business will demand payment in gift cards or prepaid credit cards. These methods are used by criminals in order to hide their activities from police;
- If you receive a call from someone claiming you owe money, get as much information from them as possible and tell them you will call them back.
- Find the government agencies’ phone number through a trusted source (phone book, or official website) and call the department back. Don’t trust the phone number or email from the caller until you have verified that they are who they say they are;
- Do not share any personal information with the caller, such as confirm name, social insurance number, address, etc.
Report any attempts of this kind to the Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 and your local RCMP Detachment.
