At the beginning of April 2021, the Campbell River RCMP detachment received several calls about a new version of a scam.
A caller, using a masked number, calls and advises the person that they arewith Canadian Border Services and they have intercepted a package bound for the caller’s address that had illegal goods in it. In order to stay out of jai,l the call recipient is told not to hang up and to follow instructions very carefully.
The caller then convinces the victim to purchase one of many different gift card options and provide them the serial numbers so they can upload the card value to a card of their own.
“No government agency accepts gift cards for payment,” says RCMp spokesperson Const. Maury Tyre. “For the most part, people who fall prey to these kinds of scams are extremely honest people that have absolutely no history with police or government agencies, so they are caught entirely unawares and can lose thousands.”
Some of the more common gift cards requested in this scam are Google Play cards, iTunes cards, and Amazon cards.
If you wish to report a crime, call the Campbell River RCMP at 250-286-6221 or in an emergency call 911.