On Oct. 31, police in West Kelowna issued a public warning regarding a telephone scam that appeared to originate from their detachment.
On Thursday, police in Kelowna issued the same warning, saying their detachment phone number has also been spoofed.
According to Kelowna RCMP, a fraudster is phoning people, falsely identifying himself as a police officer who is working for the detachment.
The fraudster allegedly tells his potential victims that their personal information has been used in criminal activity.
“The fraudster asks the victim to confirm personal information with him over the phone as it will aid in advancing a money-laundering investigation,” said Kelowna RCMP.
“We can confirm that a police officer did not make this telephone call and that this is not how the RCMP investigates these types of crimes.”
“This scam has resulted in victims providing social insurance numbers and banking information to the fraudster over the phone,” RCMP Cpl. Meghan Foster added.
“Currently, we have not received reports of identity theft that are directly related to this latest scam, and we want to prevent people from having to make those reports.”
Police noted that you should periodically check your credit reports, bank and credit card statements and report any irregularities promptly to your financial institution.
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