Two people in Nanaimo have recently fallen victim to phone scams, losing over $5,000. (PxFuel)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

SCAMMERS

Upgraded version of phone scam robs two Nanaimo victims of over $5000

Jun 30, 2020 | 2:13 PM

NANAIMO — An uptick in phone-related scams and a pair of local victims is prompting a warning from Nanaimo RCMP.

Two separate incidents in Nanaimo involved unsolicited calls from people claiming to be from government agencies.

Cst. Gary O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW an international student fell victim and lost thousands of dollars despite initially thinking it was a scam.

“The twist on the new version of the CRA scam is that a second phone call is then put to them. There was a Canadian accent from an officer identifying himself as an officer from the Canada Revenue Agency,” O’Brien said. “Only then did our victim think the call was legitimate.”

The person transferred $4,500 through a Bitcoin machine at Woodgrove Centre.

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In an separate incident, a second person was told by someone claiming to work from Service Canada their SIN was compromised.

The depth of the scam increased with a second call from a spoofed number, making it seem like the Nanaimo RCMP were calling.

“This, to the victim, made it look legitimate and they transferred the money to the Bitcoin machine,” O’Brien said.

Payment through Bitcoin, gift cards or wire transfers are common methods by scammers to dupe people.

“The commonalities are all the same: fear, intimidation and threats. The reality is it’s a scam, stop for a second, take a deep breath and hang up the phone,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien said the Nanaimo detachment receives dozens of calls relating to phone scams on a daily basis.

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