Phone scammers pretending to be police are targeting Winnipeggers, police warn

Winnipeg police are warning the public about phone scammers they believe are targeting local numbers, faking a credit card fraud investigation to swindle money from victims.

In the scam, a caller will phone a victim and pretend to be a retail business, police said in a Wednesday news release. The callers advise victims their credit card was fraudulently used and then connect victims with a fake "investigator" who attempts to convince them to transfer money to protect it during the investigation.

One case has been reported so far, said Const. Jay Murray, but he suspects more have taken place and gone unreported.

In that case, an elderly woman got a phone call from an out-of-province jeweler, who said her credit card had been used to purchase an expensive item. The scammer then transferred the woman to a person who pretended to be an employee of a bank and told her an investigator would contact her.

Then, the victim got a call from a person who told her to dial 911 — while the line was still open — to confirm an investigation was underway.

The victim believed the caller had hung up, but the scammer remained on the line. The scammer then pretended to be a police officer and tried to convince the elderly woman to transfer a significant amount of money.

At that point, the victim became suspicious and contacted Winnipeg police, the release states.

Talk to older loved ones, police say

Murray said it doesn't appear the scammers are targeting elderly people specifically.

But Winnipeg police are advising family members and friends to speak to older loves ones to ensure they're not being targeted in this or any other type of scam.

Police also provided tips to help avoid scams:

• Be cautious of any unexpected callers, such as a bank. Take reasonable steps to confirm the identities of people who call.
• Financial institutions will never ask you to transfer money to external accounts for security purposes.
• Do not assume phone numbers appearing on call display screens are accurate.

More information and tools to report scams can be found on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's website.