The Saanich Police are warning residents of an aggressive new phone scam that is happening this week. In some cases, the scammers have changed their call display to show “Saanich Police Department” or display the SPD main phone number of “250-475-4321”.
The callers are claiming that a breach has occurred with the recipient’s SIN number and are asking to verify the last 3 digits of the SIN card. The scammers then threaten the person that they owe money because their card have been compromised.
The scammers are being extremely aggressive and demanding that people withdraw money from their bank accounts and then deposit it into local Bitcoin machines. ITunes cards (and subsequent numbers) are also being requested from residents. To date, none of the residents have reported losing any money.
If the recipient expresses concern to call or attend the Police department to ensure validity, the scammers continue to impersonate the police and threaten to arrest them as soon as they attend the police department.
“The Saanich Police will never call you and ask you to withdraw money or direct you to Bitcoin machines,” stated Detective Sergeant Damian Kowalewich. “If you suspect that a scammer has called, document the caller ID number and hang up. Do not provide any personal information to the caller. We are also asking residents to share details of this recent scam with any vulnerable persons in their lives.”
If you suspect that you have received a call from one of these scammers please report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
D/Sgt. Damian Kowalewich