In a recent incident, a Sechelt resident was contacted by a fraudster posing as a senior officer with the Vancouver Police Department. The call appeared legitimate because it originated from a “spoofed” phone number displaying the VPD non-emergency phone number.

The fraudster, posing as Vancouver Police Chief Constable Steve Rai, informed the victim that they were investigating a local Sunshine Coast financial institution and needed his assistance.   

The victim then received a call via WhatsApp from what he believed to be a female representative from the local financial institution advising him to make several email money transfers to an account in order to test their transaction capabilities based on the recent fraud investigation. The victim made two money transfers - one for $70,000 and the other for $38,000. There have been many victims who have fallen for this elaborate scam. 

How to protect yourself

Police officers, will never ask members of the public to assist in criminal investigations by transferring money or depositing funds into cryptocurrency accounts.

Banks will never ask customers to provide one-time passwords, two-factor authentication codes, or online banking credentials over the phone.

Caller ID can be manipulated, making it appear that calls are coming from legitimate organizations.

If you receive a suspicious call, hang up and contact your bank or police using a publicly listed phone number.

Never send money, purchase cryptocurrency, or provide account access based on instructions received during an unsolicited phone call.

Anyone who believes they have been targeted by a similar scam is encouraged to contact their financial institution immediately and call police.