Howick Resident Gives Scammer $50,000 In Bitcoin
Source: Area OPPDate: Fri Aug 7 03:43:42 MST 2020
(HURON COUNTY, ON) - Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is sending out a scam warning to residents after police investigated a recent scam that victimized a Howick resident for over $50,000.
The scammer in this case called the victim to inform him that his Social Insurance Number had been compromised. The scammer identified himself as a "Private Investigator" and assured the victim he could rectify the matter. He advised he could secure his account from further fraudulent transactions if he transferred funds to him.
The victim followed the scammer's instructions and proceeded to send multiple Bitcoin transactions to the scammer totalling a sum of over $50,000.
Bitcoin is a type of digital money or cryptocurrency. Scammers may also ask victims to wire them money or demand payment through gift cards.
Some common Bitcoin scams are as follows:
Extortion - A scammer may send you a message or call you indicating they have hacked into your computer and now they have remote access to your computer. The scammer provides you with two options - send them Bitcoin to suppress the material or send nothing and the content will be sent to your email contacts and spread across your social networks.
Impersonation - The scammer may indicate they work for a government agency such as the Canada Revenue Agency, a police service, bank or private investigation company in an attempt to gain your trust. Once they have it, they will request you send money to "secure your account" or "monitor fraudulent" transactions.
Bogus Investment and Business Opportunities - Someone might offer you investment and business opportunities that promise to make you big money, or give you financial freedom. But remember, there are no guarantees you will make money in dollars or cryptocurrency.
Free Giveaways - Due to the viral nature of how information spreads across the internet, scammers seek to take advantage of people by offering free giveaways of bitcoin or other digital currencies in exchange for sending a small amount to register or by providing some personal information. When you see this on a website or social network, it's best to immediately report the content as fraudulent.
Pump and Dumps - Do not trust people who entice you or others to invest because they claim that they know what the Bitcoin price is going to be. In a pump and dump scheme, a person tries to artificially drive up or pump the price so that they can dump their holdings for a profit.
Huron County OPP is asking you to verify any unsolicited contacts before you take any action. Sending money, gift cards or bitcoins to strangers is simply not worth the risk.
Anyone interested in more information on fraud can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/.
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