For the second time in as many weeks, a Guelph resident has lost thousands of dollars after falling victim to a scam involving Bitcoin, reports Guelph police.
Saturday afternoon police contacted by a 68-year-old city resident. He reported he had been contacted by someone claiming to represent the Canada Border Services Agency, who claimed a package with the male’s name on it had been intercepted at the border and contained illegal substances.
The male was instructed to deposit $3,900 into a Bitcoin ATM and did so while keeping the caller on the line. When the caller then demanded the male pull additional funds from a line of credit, the male got suspicious and hung up.
The report comes less than two weeks after a 27-year-old Guelph female lost nearly $8,000 in the same scam.
Payments made via Bitcoin or other crypto currencies are nearly impossible to trace. To avoid falling victim to similar scams:
- Do not provide any information to a caller you don’t know.
- Do not click on links provided or follow directions from a caller you don’t know.
- If the caller claims to be from an agency such as Canadian Border Services or the Canada Revenue Agency, hang up and call the agency back directly before following any instructions. Look up the number yourself rather than using a number provided by the caller.
- The caller will use various means, including threats, to try to force you to act quickly. Don’t fall for it.
- No government agency will demand payment by gift cards or crypto currency. If they ask for this, hang up.
