KELOWNA — Kelowna RCMP say it was a ploy to scare the victim into paying fictitious fees and it worked.
The victim was a 30 year old Kelowna woman who received a call this week from someone claiming to be with the Canada Revenue Agency.
“The fraudster indicated that the woman and her husband had outstanding fees with the CRA and that if they didn’t pay off the balance immediately, a warrant would be issued for their arrest for tax evasion,” says Cst. Kris Clark.
He says the scammer told the woman how to obtain pre-paid credit cards in order to pay the outstanding amount, otherwise the scammer indicated the woman would be arrested by the RCMP.
The woman hung up but then she received another call — this time from someone claiming to be with the RCMP.
“But within minutes, the victim received a call that showed 911 on the call display,” says Clark.
“A man claiming to be a constable with the RCMP reassured the victim that the call was legitimate and that she needed to complete the process to avoid being arrested.”
The woman bowed to the pressure and paid the scammers $3,000.
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