RCMP have issued a fraud warning after a Red Deer resident was bilked out of a large amount of money in a Bitcoin scam.
The fraud was reported to police on Friday morning after an unknown suspect contacted the victim and persuaded the person they were from the RCMP.
“The scam was sophisticated in that the suspect was able to convince the victim that the call was from the RCMP in Spruce Grove and was legitimate,” said RCMP.
“The victim was threatened with arrest over a social insurance fraud and was directed to withdraw a large sum of money in order to safeguard money in the victim’s account,” police said.
“The suspect provided a code and directed the victim to a Bitcoin machine to deposit the money.”
RCMP are reminding residents that scams like this are prevalent and sophisticated.
Citizens can protect themselves by remembering:
• RCMP will never demand money over the telephone;
• RCMP will never direct anyone to make a Bitcoin payment;
• RCMP will not threaten arrest over a SIN fraud;
• RCMP will not request personal information like banking information or social insurance numbers over the telephone.