Two people were targeted in an overseas phone scam using fake RCMP credentials to make themselves sound credible, April 25 and 28, 2014.
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April 29, 2014 - 1:00 PM
THOMPSON OKANAGAN – RCMP are warning the public about a telephone scam in which the caller pretends to be an officer threatening arrest and deportation if a financial penalty is not paid.
The caller claims to be with the revenue department of the RCMP – a department that doesn’t exist.
The Kamloops detachment received reports of two calls made on April 25 and 28. One of the recipients was ordered to make a $1200 money transfer. Both call recipients did not fall for the scheme.
Corporal Cheryl Bush says RCMP suspect the calls are from overseas and other locations apart from Kamloops are being targeted.
“It’s uncertain as to how or why they’re choosing the numbers that they call,” Bush said.
Bush says it’s difficult to trace the origins of the call through the use of IP addresses because the calls were made through an internet phone service.
Police are advising members of the public to not give out any personal information and hang up the phone if they receive a call from someone claiming to be from the revenue department of the RCMP. These calls are being made to both cell phones and landlines.
To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infotelnews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014