New phone call scam targeting Fort St John area

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – The Fort St John RCMP report they have received dozens of calls reporting a new round of locally targeted scam phone calls.

According to the RCMP, the victims receive a call from an Ontario phone number and the caller says they are from Service Canada.  The caller tells the victim they have too many credit cards or too many bank accounts and instruct the victim to empty their bank accounts, travel to Grande Prairie, Alberta, where they are to convert their money to bitcoin then deposit it as directed.

The RCMP share that the caller sounds believable because they have the victim’s name, address and phone number and then ask that the victim confirm their last three digits of their SIN.  The caller also provides a website that they refer the victim to which looks like a Canadian government website with the phone number they are calling from listed on the bottom of the page, making the call seem legitimate.  One report stated it was Border Services calling saying the victim’s Social Insurance Number (SIN) had been compromised.

RCMP have noted that over the last two days, the scam appears to be evolving with some people being called from Fort St John phone numbers, including the Fort St John RCMP.

“Fraudsters are getting more sophisticated and frauds are getting more elaborate,” said Constable Chad Neustaeter.  “Getting the word out so that our community is educated about what is happening and having the confidence to know how to deal with the situation can help them make safe, informed decisions.”

The following are ways the RCMP recommend you protect yourself;

If you are a victim or receive a call that you believe is fraudulent in any way, report it to the http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/.  There are great additional resources on this site as well.

If you do provide sensitive personal information such as bank account or credit card information, passwords or your SIN number:

According to RCMP, the best thing you can do is share this information with your family and friends because the more people that know what is going on, the fewer victims will fall for these sorts of scams.

If you have been a victim of any of these scam calls, have information or can assist in identifying any possible suspects, you are asked to contact the Fort St John RCMP at 250-787-8100. Should you wish to remain anonymous, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online at www.crimestoppersnebc.ca.