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.
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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