VANCOUVER - A new phone scam has Vancouver police warning residents to be wary of calls coming from their non-emergency line.
According to the Vancouver Police Department, fraudsters are using a technique known as spoofing to display its non-emergency number and pretending to be officers.
Several reports have been filed with police by residents who received calls from someone acting as a member of the VPD or the Canada Revenue Agency. In those calls, they demand Bitcoin or gift cards as payment for false debts.
"The non-emergency police line is for residents to use to report incidents to the police. The police will never call you from the non-emergency number and will never solicit payment," said Sgt. Aaron Roed in a news release.
"We ask that if you receive a call like this, you hang up immediately and spread the word to friends and family."
Reports from residents say the fraudsters say they're calling from CRA and are asking the victim to provide the number for their local police department. Then, they hang up and the victims get another call from someone using the VPD number, claiming to be a police officer.
They then give a fake badge number and say the victim's social insurance number has been used to create credit cards that have major balances owing and that they're responsible for paying the debt.
Police say anyone who receives this kind of call or any other scam call is asked to report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online or at 1-888-495-8501. They're also asked to contact the VPD at 604-717-3321 or Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous.
