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By Veronica Beltran

phone scam

RCMP once again warn residents of Caller ID phone scam

Jul 30, 2020 | 11:16 AM

FORT ST. JOHN—Earlier this month Dawson Creek RCMP warned residents about scammers using RCMP or government phone numbers, which would show up on caller ID, in an attempt to trick residents into giving them their personal information. Now Fort St. John RCMP are warning residents in their community.

A release from Fort St. John (FSJ) RCMP says that they have experienced a steep rise in the number of calls about fraudulent activity. Scammers are once again using a caller ID under the name of the Fort St. John police detachment or other local agency. Residents are then told they need to provide Google Play cards or some other gift card to pay back taxes and other penalities or fines in order to avoid arrest.

FSJ RCMP say that in one occasion a victim came into the detachment with a handful of gift cards. Police say that scammers are combining Caller ID spoofing and part of the CRA scam in this type of phone scam. Caller ID Spoofing is when a scammer uses a local phone number to cover up where they are really calling from and the CRA scam threatens victims with arrest from local police if they don’t pay their fines.

“The unfortunate thing with frauds is that scammers are emotionally and financially victimizing hardworking, tax paying citizens who in the end have no way of recovering the funds that they lose.”—Constable Chad Neustaeter, Media Relations Officer, Fort St John RCMP

Fort St. John RCMP are reminding residents that no Government Agency, Service Canada or the RCMP will ever call them demanding money for any reason.

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“If you receive any phone calls where you are asked to pay for anything by Google Play cards or Amazon gift cards, hang up, it is likely a scam,” says Cst. Neustaeter. Anyone who has fallen victim to a scam or fraud of this type is asked to contact their local police detachment. For more information on how to keep protected from scams click here.