Police say thousands of dollars lost in recent Nova Scotia phone scams

Nova Scotia RCMP are warning people of threatening scam calls that have impacted over 20 people in the Lower Sackville area.

“People in the area received telephone calls from someone claiming to be a representative from the Canada Revenue Agency [CRA] and in these situations, people were calling individuals, claiming to be reps and telling people that they owed money.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "People in the area received telephone calls from someone claiming to be a representative from the Canada Revenue Agency [CRA] and in these situations, people were calling individuals, claiming to be reps and telling people that they owed money.

“If they failed to pay money, then they would call RCMP and have them go and arrest these individuals, that’s not what we do,” Cpl. Dal Hutchinson said, the media relations officer with Halifax District RCMP.

More than 20 people phoned the RCMP detachment in Lower Sackville on Wednesday, with concerns over the calls.

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Cpl. Hutchinson says, not only are scam calls becoming more common, the people behind them are becoming bolder with their attempts to convince victims to believe what they’re saying and provide personal information.

“What’s a little bit unique and something we haven’t seen before, they were providing people with the telephone number for the Lower Sackville detachment,” Cpl. Hutchinson said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "What's a little bit unique and something we haven't seen before, they were providing people with the telephone number for the Lower Sackville detachment," Cpl. Hutchinson said.

While police say nobody fell victim to the CRA scam this time around, there have been recent incidents were fraudulent calls have resulted in people losing thousands of dollars.

“I can speak of two incidents that have took place in the last two weeks, actually in Colchester County, where individuals have been defrauded more than $10,000 by transferring moneys to these individuals through either the use of Bitcoins or through iTunes cards,” Cpl. Hutchinson said.

He adds that once a scam is completed and personal information is provided, it’s very challenging for people to get any of their money back.

“The unfortunate thing is it’s very difficult and in most cases, to track down the individuals who are taking your money,” he said.

According to the Government of Canada website, the only time the CRA will send you any information or links through an email is if an individual specifically requests it.