The Calgary Police Service (CPS) is investigating a number of cases of bank fraud that have amounted to a reported loss of more than $971,000 since 2017.
Police said the scam itself is not new, but fraudsters are finding a new way to take advantage of old technology.
In a news release Thursday, CPS said scammers are hoping to make contact with potential victims on a landline rather than a cellphone, because landlines will allow a phone call connection to remain live even if one person hangs up, as opposed to a cellphone where the connection is terminated as soon as one person ends the call.
According to police, a person will get a call from a scammer who poses as someone from their bank. The scammer will try to convince the victim to answer some questions about potentially fraudulent activity on their bank account.
During the phone call, the scammer will instruct the victim to make purchases using their debit or credit card, usually in the form of gift cards, in order to help the “bank” determine which activity is real or fraudulent.
If the victim challenges or questions the caller, police said the scammer will tell the victim to look on the back of the bank or credit card for a phone number, which is a customer service number for the credit or debit company.
In the media release, police explained the victim is encouraged to hang up and call that customer service number immediately.
“On landlines, if one party doesn’t hang up, the connection doesn’t terminate,” police said.
“This feature is the twist to the scam that fraudsters are relying on, as landlines allow the scammer to remain on the line and listen to the victim dial the number.”
According to police, the scammer will “answer” as the bank or the “account investigator.”
Police say it is during this second call that fraudsters are able to get personal and financial information.
CPS said they have also heard of some callers posing as police investigators.
This scam has been quite prolific over the past few years.
In 2017, police said there were nine reported cases of this scam with a reported loss of $256,412.
In 2018, CPS lists 43 reported cases of this scam with a reported loss of $641, 414.
From January to June of 2019, police list 17 reported cases with a reported loss of $73,800.
Police suggest callers always wait to hear a dial tone before calling a verified phone number, especially if directed to make a call by someone else.
They also remind Calgarians a legitimate financial institution will never call a client seeking their assistance in conducting an investigation. Nor will they ask you to make a purchase of to make a payment in the form of gift cards.
For more information contact the non-emergency police line at (403) 266-1234.
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