Police are warning residents of a scam making the rounds in Delta.
According to a press release, Delta police received at least three complaints this week of fraudsters posing as representatives of a government agency or a financial institution and threatening residents with arrest unless they send payment via Google Play or, in one instance that was reported, Bitcoin.
One victim was called by an unknown male claiming to be a police officer and told they had an outstanding debt that needed to be paid immediately. The victim was then advised to purchase $3,000 worth of Google Play cards and give the fraudster the pin numbers.
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Police say scammers will often pose as someone in a position of authority in order to try and convince their potential victims to take them seriously. As well, Google Play and Bitcoin have become a popular form of payment for fraudsters as they are difficult to track and easy to cash out.
The Delta Police Department is advising the public to be aware of this scam and not to give money or gift cards to unknown individuals over the phone.
The release notes that many of these fraudsters have targeted Punjabi-speaking residents of Delta, therefore, police have released an audio recording of this information in Punjabi, available on the Delta Police Department website.
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editor@northdeltareporter.com
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