Winnipeg police are warning people about a scam that’s been the most successful at taking money away from Manitobans and growing in popularity.
It’s called the bank investigator scam and Manitobans have lost more than $1 million to it alone.
How it works is the fraudster will contact a victim on the phone and tell them there has been a suspicious transaction on their bank account or credit card.
They instruct the victim to phone a toll-free number on the back of their payment card for further details.
When the victim hangs up and starts dialing, the fraudster, having not hung up, begins posing as a bank investigator.
The fraudster will convince the victim to remove money from their account and send it to them in a variety of ways including cryptocurrencies, wire transfers or even through the mail.
Police say it’s the most successful and profitable scam against Manitobans.
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Between 2017 and 2019, the amount of complaints made to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for the bank investigator scam has more than doubled.
Police tips and safeguards to protect yourself from the scam include:
- Banks and other financial institutions will never ask you to assist in an internal investigation, they all have a corporate security department who handles those types of incidents
- Be wary of early-morning phone calls from individuals purporting to be from a bank or another financial institution. The fraudsters behind these scams usually call then to catch a victim who has just woken up and is not yet fully alert
- Do not assume phone numbers appearing on your call display are accurate. Fraudsters use call-spoofing technology to disguise themselves and make it appear so that they are actually calling from a bank
- If you get a phone call in regards to suspicious activity with your bank account, speak to a representative at your local branch in person
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