Beware of a scam targeting international students, using Ottawa Police phone number

https://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/news/index.aspx?newsId=2e1b8db8-d6cc-47bb-88f2-1e62302135dd

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, April 5, 2018           11:25am 

(Ottawa) — The Ottawa Police Service Organized Fraud Unit is warning the public of the resurgence of a previously reported scam.  

Victims, who are mostly international students, have received calls from persons pretending to be investigators from the Government of Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Department. 

The fraudster typically tells the victim that they have committed a crime in their home country (usually money laundering) and that they will be deported unless they pay money to a lawyer.  The victim is then instructed to purchase pre-paid gift cards in order to pay the lawyer.  

To further complicate matters, the calls appear to be from telephone numbers that belong to Ottawa Police Service i.e. 613-236-1222. 

Citizens, especially students, are reminded that should they receive unsolicited calls from a person requesting money or personal information; they advise the person on the line that they will call them back. They should then verify the correct number for whatever agency is supposedly calling and then call them back, as applicable.

It should be further noted that the actual Ottawa Police phone number (613-236-1222) will not show up on your call display when you are receiving a legitimate call from the Ottawa Police. 

It is believed that these calls are originating from outside of Canada. 

Anyone who has lost money as a result of this scam is asked to contact the Ottawa Police Service to make a report at 613-236-1222, ext. 7300. You can also make a report online at ottawapolice.ca.   

Fraudsters pose as immigration officials in phone scam, police warn

Scammers pose as Citizenship and Immigration Canada employees in phone cash grab

CBC News Posted: Dec 17, 2015 6:58 PM ET Last Updated: Dec 17, 2015 6:58 PM ET

Ottawa police say they're receiving daily complaints of fraudsters posing as government employees in an attempt to pocket money from those going through the immigration process.
The scam works like this: someone claiming to be from Citizenship and Immigration Canada calls and demands a fee of $2,000 to correct faulty paper work in an application.

Staff Sgt. Stephanie Burns said the service receives daily complaints about the fraudsters posing as Citizenship and Immigration officials (CBC)

Mandira Purie, who recently retired as a public servant at the department, says she received a call from someone who told her that her immigration form had not been updated — and immediately recognized it as a scam because she is a Canadian citizen.
But with an influx of refugees on the way, she's worried others could easily get duped.
"I'm concerned about people who might end up disclosing their credit card information because they're so concerned and they're not citizens and they're afraid of being deported," she said.
The fraudsters typically try to get the person they're calling to disclose private information —  including credit card numbers — to pay for made-up fines, said Ottawa Police Service Staff Sgt. Stephanie Burns.
Burns said anyone who receives a suspicious call shouldn't be afraid to ask questions.
"What we find is that people who do ask questions and start to push back a bit, it quickly unravels into a scam because the person on the other end of the line gets abusive and starts to get very hostile," said Burns.
"And that's an absolute indicator that they're trying to scam you," she said.
Anyone with doubts about the legitimacy of a call from Citizen and Immigration Canada are encouraged to ask for the agent's name and then call the department's call centre at 1-888-242-2100 to find out whether or not that person is legitimate.

with files from Simon Gardner

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/fraudsters-pose-as-immigration-officials-in-phone-scam-1.3370670