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Barriere RCMP is warning residents after they have seen an increase in reports of bill collection frauds over the phone.
According to police, these scams involve a person claiming to be calling as a part of a business service or government organization. The scammer, who usually posses as a BC Hydro or Canada Revenue Agency worker, claims the victim owes money that they need to pay immediately.
If the victim doesn't pay right away, they are told they could face arrest or have their utilities shut off. Sometimes, the scammer may even know details of the victim's account such as its balance, address or SIN.
In order to extract money from the victim, the scammer will ask for payment in a variety of unusual forms, such as pre-paid debit or credit cards, gift cards, MoneyGram, Western Union, or BitCoin. The scammer may even do internet research of your local bank’s business hours and make the call during times when the bank is not open, in order to pressure the victim to use one of these other methods of payment.
"The best course of action to take whenever you receive a cold call from someone claiming that you owe money is to hang-up, and contact the company or government entity directly via their telephone number in the phone book or official company website," said Cpl. Rob Welsman. "Do not use phone numbers, email addresses, or website links provided by the scammer to contact the company, as these are fraudulent and will only lead you back to the scammer themselves."
If you suspect that you have lost money to a fraudulent bill collector scheme, ensure you contact your local RCMP and your bank and/or credit card provider to report the incident. For more information on these scams, click here.