A Nanaimo man was duped out of almost $10,000 by an individual claiming to work for the FBI, say RCMP.
Police received a complaint about the scam Nov. 24. According to a Nanaimo RCMP press release, “the complainant was told if he did not pay he would go directly to jail.”
The $10,000 was transferred over a six-month period and investigators are trying to determine who received the international money transfers.
In a separate case in November, a man was scammed out of $500 after a phone call from someone claiming to represent the Canada Revenue Agency.
“The male told attending officers he had received a phone call from the CRA stating he owed back taxes and the only way to remedy it was to purchase $500 in iTunes cards,” noted the RCMP press release. “He thought this seemed a little odd and even asked the CRA person about it, and was told it’s just easier to track this way.”
The scam victim purchased the cards and then provided the passwords.
Anyone tricked into providing personal information or money should contact the police and also report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.