The Winnipeg Police Service is warning residents about a phone scam trying to convince people to transfer their money for security reasons.
According to police, people are being called by people claiming to be from retail businesses, who say the person’s credit card has been used fraudulently. The victim of the scam is then passed off to someone pretending to be an investigator and urged to transfer money for protection during the investigation.
One elderly woman told police she received a call from an out-of-province jeweler, who claimed her credit card was used to buy something expensive. The woman was then transferred to someone who said they work at a bank and was informed she would be contacted by an investigator.
The woman received a call from someone who told her to dial 911, while the line was still open, in order to confirm that an investigation was underway.
The woman was under the impression that this person had hung up, but in reality they stayed on the line, pretended to be a police officer and attempted to convince her to transfer money.
The woman was suspicious so she contacted the police who told her the calls were a scam.
Police advise residents to be wary of unexpected callers. They also point out that financial institutions won’t ask for money transfers to external accounts for security reasons, and that not all numbers that show up in call display are accurate.
Winnipeg police also encourage people to speak with elderly loved ones to make sure they aren’t targets of this or any other scam.
For more information, as well as tool to report the scams go to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
