The Manitoba RCMP is warning about two recent frauds in Southwestern Manitoba.
Two people have been defrauded of over $34,000.
In one instance the victim was called by a person claiming to work for the Canada Border Services Agency. The caller claimed that they intercepted a package addressed to the victim that contained drugs, money, and fraudulent documents. The victim had recently placed some Amazon orders, which made it believable and concerning.
More calls were made to the victim from someone impersonating a police officer, and the Canada Revenue Agency. The victim was told to send money to settle the issue, which the victim did. In the days following, the victim continued to receive phone calls requesting more money and realized it was a scam and reported it to the police.
In the second instance, a victim was called by someone impersonating a police officer, claiming that a family member of the victim had been involved in a collision and was now at a police station.
The caller requested that the victim send money in order for the family member to be released from police custody. After the money was sent, the victim talked with another family member and realized it was a scam, and called the police.
The RCMP is advising Manitobans that no police agency or government agency will ask for money by mail, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or QR codes.
Suspicious phone calls can be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
