Another Guelph resident falls victim to Bitcoin scam: police

Guelph police say more residents have fallen victim to a Bitcoin scam that appeared to return to the city this week after similar incidents earlier this year in which two women were bilked out of thousands of dollars.

A 15-year-old girl lost $600 on Monday and a woman lost $2,920 on Tuesday after they both received a phone call from a man posing as a police officer.

In both cases, police said the man told the victim that she owed money to multiple people, including the Canadian Revenue Agency, and that she also needed a new social insurance number.

The victims were then instructed to withdraw money from their own accounts and deposit it into a Bitcoin machine at a business near Gordon and Wellington streets.

The girl and the woman both followed the instructions, but then reported it to Guelph police after realizing it was a scam.

Two women lost thousands of dollars back in March. One lost $9,500 a day after another woman lost $19,000.

In those cases, police said the woman received a call from someone posing as a police officer who instructed them to deposit money in a Bitcoin machine near Gordon and Wellington streets.

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In August, Waterloo Regional Police said dozens of its residents had fallen victim to the scam. In one case, a victim lost $10,000 and in another, someone lost $19,000.

At the time, police said, in total, Waterloo Region residents have been duped for more than $430,000 in 2020. Twenty-nine of the 78 victims were scammed in July alone.

Residents are being reminded that accredited businesses, governments, and law enforcement services will never instruct a person to deposit money into a Bitcoin machine.

They will also never call someone and ask for personal information while threatening to lay criminal charges.