The RNC is raising awareness about continued scams making the rounds after at least one person was recently scammed out of $15,000 dollars in an online employment scheme.
The RNC were recently contacted by a person who, after accepting an online job offer, was asked to complete on-the-job training on the online messaging service, WhatsApp – a platform that is not commonly used in Canada, but which is hugely popular in countries like India and Brazil.
Training included converting money from the person’s personal account into cryptocurrency.
RNC say while the money appeared to remain in the victim’s account, the transactions – totaling $15,000 – were lost.
The Constabulary warns that fraudsters are becoming far more sophisticated in taking advantage of a person’s good nature and willingness to cooperate with agencies they believe to be legitimate.
Police remind people never to share personal information including banking information or driver’s licences via mail, phone, email or text. If you are suspicious, end the conversation immediately, fraudsters often spoof local phone numbers on caller ID, and never click links via text or email. Anyone who suspects they may have fallen victim to a scam is asked to contact the RNC by phone 709-726-8000 or report suspected fraudulent actives to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by calling 1-888-495-8501.
