Kingston man out $20K, police investigating complex scam
Police in Kingston are investigating what they call a complex multi-step scam that made a resident lose $20,000 late April in eastern Ontario.
The investigation started on April 24 when police received a call from the victim reporting the fraud.
The Kingston resident received a call on April 22 from fraudsters impersonating Amazon representatives and telling them they had made multiple purchases, police say.
When the victim told the callers they had not made any big purchases, they were asked to provide the name of their bank. That was when they were connected to someone else pretending to be a bank representative from the fraud department, police add.
Then, the fraudsters transferred the victim to another representative pretending to be from the Government of Canada. That was when the victim was informed that the people who made the purchases had stolen their identity, noting that it’s now being used for drug trafficking and money laundering in the USA.
“The suspects even forwarded the victim’s credentials and a letter describing the investigation into their identity theft. The suspects then asked the victim to look up the phone number for the Kingston RCMP detachment and confirm it with them,” police said in a news release. “The suspects then called the victim and spoofed the actual contact number, impersonating an RCMP constable.”
The suspect impersonating the RCMP then asked the victim to withdraw all their money from all their bank accounts and to convert it to “Bitcoin using a Bitcoin ATM to be ‘verified by the Court,’” police add.
“The victim was told the names of specific bank tellers working at their branch and told they were in on the scam – it is unknown how the suspects knew the names of the tellers. The suspects also sent the Victim a QR code, which, when scanned at the Bitcoin ATM directed the money to the suspects’ virtual wallet,” reads the release.
That was when the victim withdrew and lost the $20,000.
To avoid falling victim to a scam, police share the following tips:
• Do not share your personal information with callers pretending to be on behalf of your financial institution, the police or the government. Instead, you “hang up, look up the number for yourself and call back to confirm if the call is legitimate.”
• Banks will never call and ask for personal details or “ask for a two-step verification code.”
• Police do not normally call and ask for assistance to locate or catch scammers, “especially by withdrawing your money to keep safe or to act as bait.”
• Whenever you are asked to convert money to Bitcoin, you should know it’s a fraud.
• Always ask a few other people you trust.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump delivers rambling response to his hush money conviction
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Solutions coming for piled-up bodies outside Newfoundland hospital
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador say they are only weeks away from a solution to move unclaimed human remains out of roadside freezers and into a nearby hospital.
Jurors weigh death penalty after finding Chad Daybell guilty of killing his first wife and second wife's 2 children
A day after delivering a guilty verdict in Chad Daybell’s murder trial, an Idaho jury will reconvene Friday to weigh whether he will face the death penalty.
Actor Nick Pasqual charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing estranged girlfriend
An actor who has appeared in film and TV projects like 'Rebel Moon' and 'How I Met Your Mother' has been arrested and charged with stabbing his estranged girlfriend multiple times.
'Unprecedented': Human smuggling from B.C. to U.S. soars, using train, Uber and foot
American prosecutors and law enforcement officers say they're dealing with a huge increase in human smuggling from British Columbia.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.