Fraudsters are now claiming to be Victoria Police officers and Canada Post representatives using number spoofing.
Police were contacted by a victim who reported receiving a call from the VicPD non-emergency number displayed on their caller ID.
The caller claimed the victim was under investigation for fraud and instructed them to withdraw $3,000 from the bank, go to a specific ATM to buy Bitcoin, and send it to a designated account.
They withdrew the cash and sent $900, but chose to call police back before sending the rest.
The same person says they initially received a call from someone claiming to be with Canada Post, who accurately recited the victim’s address.
The caller then requested a picture of the victim’s ID for “verification” and claimed that a package containing fake IDs linked to the victim’s address had been intercepted at the border.
The scammer warned that law enforcement would freeze the victim’s bank accounts for money laundering unless a fine was paid in Bitcoin.
“Number spoofing” is a tactic that cybercriminals use to trick your call display into impersonating a legitimate number and authority.