WARMAN – The Saskatchewan RCMP are warning people to be cautious to avoid scams, with cryptocurrency fraud losses now reaching $3.4 million.
On Aug. 26, Warman RCMP received a report of cryptocurrency fraud at a business in Warman. An employee at the business received a suspicious phone call where the caller misrepresented themselves as the employee’s senior management. The caller said there was an urgent package that needed to be paid for and payment could be made by depositing a sum of money at a nearby cryptocurrency ATM.
This call was not from the employee’s senior manager.
If you receive such a call, hang up immediately. Do not provide any information to the caller or follow-through with their request.
This incident was one of numerous reports Saskatchewan RCMP have received where people have been victimized by fraudulent calls, many involving cryptocurrency.
Between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2024, Saskatchewan RCMP had investigated 116 files involving cryptocurrency fraud, and, in total, victims had reported more than $3.4 million in cryptocurrency fraud losses.
The scams that have been reported have taken place through the following tactics:
- Employer scams: A scammer pretends to be the owner of a business, and has the victim withdraw money from the cash register and deposit it in a cryptocurrency ATM.
- Grandparent scams: A scammer pretends to be a grandchild or close relative of the victim and states that they are in a crisis situation, asking for immediate financial assistance.
- Investment fraud: A scammer lures the victim using investment opportunities for cryptocurrencies to make a profit by creating links on various social media advertisements to steal investments. These scammers often use popular, recognizable names of celebrities or people well known to the public.
Some warning signs of cryptocurrency fraud may include the following:
- Investment opportunities with higher than normal returns.
- Unsolicited telephone, email or social media investment offers.
- Pressure to send money quickly/urgently
- Suspicious messages from a trusted source, like a bank or family member.
- Cryptocurrency investments that are not registered with provincial or national securities regulators.
- Contact pages that include an illegitimate address.
Police say, if you or a family member have been contacted by a scammer or lost money because of a fraud, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm or 1-888-495-8501, or your local RCMP detachment by dialling 310-RCMP.
