A Toronto woman was called by the ‘police’ and told that she would need to deposit $1,000 to have a case against her dropped.
She did, said Toronto Police, asking the public be aware of and report any scam caller pretending to be a police officer.
On Tuesday October 15, a woman reported a fraud to the service’s 31 Division.
She said on Monday, October 14, she received a phone call from an individual claiming to be from Canada Revenue Agency. He advised her that she was being investigated in relation to her SIN number being used for fraudulent activity
She then received a phone call from 416-808-3100 (no name on display) from an individual who identified himself as a police officer. The woman was advised that she could call 31 Division and check on his employment. She did not do this at the time.
The woman was told she needed to deposit money into a Bitcoin machine located in the area of Jane Street and Sheppard Ave W. It was agreed a $1000 payment would prevent a warrant from being issued for her arrest.
She went to the Bitcoin machine and deposited the money.
Officers have recently been made aware of multiple related occurrences where police phone numbers are being used to commit similar frauds or people are pretending to be police officers.
“We would like to remind the public that police would never ask for forms of payment over the phone and do not accept Bitcoin currency,” said a TPS statement.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-3107