Phone scam could end up costing victims half a million dollars: West Vancouver police
Oct. 14 update: The West Vancouver Police Department said the couple featured in this article was able to halt the transfer, and no money was lost.
WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Police are sending out a warning about a specific phone scam that’s been making the rounds, and which could end up costing a West Vancouver couple half a million dollars.
West Vancouver police Const. Kevin Goodmurphy said it’s known as a “hang-up delay” scam. The con is carried out on a landline, and the victims think they are speaking to multiple people and making more than one call, but in fact, they are only connected to one person the entire time: the scammer.
“The scammer will either change their voice or they’ll have somebody else in the room with them and impersonate different people, from police officers to bank officials, eventually convincing the person that their money is not safe,” Goodmurphy said.
Goodmurphy said last week, on Oct. 6, a local couple got a call on their home landline phone from someone claiming to be a police officer who was looking into fraudulent activity on their debit card.
The victim was asked to call their bank using a number on the back of their card, and then spoke to someone who identified themselves as a fraud investigator. The scammer provided the victim with a “reference number” which they were told not to share with anybody, in order to protect the “internal investigation”. The victim was also directed to call 911 and ask for an “Insp. Mark Osborne.”
“Which is absurd, because no one would call 911, I’d hope, looking for an individual,” Goodmurphy said. “But again, they think they’re doing that, but because the call hasn’t disconnected it’s the same person on the other end of the line.”
After more calls, the victims became convinced their money wasn’t safe at the bank, and set up a wire transfer for $500,000. They later grew suspicious and called police.
Goodmurphy said police have yet to confirm if the money was actually transferred.
“We’re hopeful that for our victims’ sake, that the banks are able to put a halt on that,” he said. “(The scammers are) extremely convincing, they’re good at what they do and they continue to commit these crimes because they’re often successful.”
Goodmurphy told CTV News Vancouver on Wednesday there are other files involving this scam that are currently under active investigation, and over the past couple of weeks, some victims have lost money.
“Unfortunately, we’ve been getting a lot of phone calls about this particular scam with very similar circumstances,” he said. “This is something of concern for us.”
Police are reminding people never to transfer money to strangers who make contact through unsolicited phone calls, and always go to your bank in person to address any concerns.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.