Police issue warning about phone scam
Posted Jul 17, 2018 03:18:41 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Halifax Regional Police are warning the public to be wary of incoming calls regarding their credit cards.
They say someone in the municipality received a phone call from a fraudster claiming to be a retailer who told the victim their credit card had been used.
“After the initial conversation, the intended victim may be advised to call police or their credit card provider to verify the authenticity of the call,” said HRP in a news release. “The victim will hang up and do so, unaware that the original caller has not disconnected.”
Police say the victim then thinks they are talking to police or their credit card company.
The scammer asks them to transfer money to a specific account the fraudster says will safeguard their cash while an “investigation” takes place.
Police say this scam has been reported across the country, varies in detail depending on the circumstance and appears to target home-based phones.
“Additionally, there is evidence to indicate that, in certain cases, the callers may already possess some of the banking particulars of the intended victim,” say HRP.
They are offering up the following advice:
- 9-1-1 is for emergencies where people or property are at risk. 9-1-1 call-takers will not forward your call to a police investigator.
- If you are in doubt about the security of your personal funds, attend any branch of your financial institution and make inquiries in person.
- Financial institutions will never advise you to transfer funds to external accounts for security reasons.
- When contacted via phone by people claiming to be police officers, bank employees, or officials, take reasonable steps to ensure their claim is truthful.
- Do not assume that phone numbers appearing on call display screens are accurate. Readily available “call-spoofing” technology is frequently utilized by criminals to provide inaccurate caller information.
Anyone who has given out personal information or lost money in this scam is asked to call the Integrated Financial Crime Unit at 902-490-1985.
“There is no need to report that you've been contacted in relation to this scam if you're not a victim,” say police.
