Sechelt resident loses more than $100,000 in police impersonation scam

A Sechelt resident lost more than $100,000 in a scam involving callers who posed as police officers and financial-institution employees, according to Sechelt RCMP.

Police said the victim first received a call that appeared to come from the Vancouver Police Department’s non-emergency line. The caller allegedly used spoofed caller ID, claimed to be Vancouver Police Chief Const. Steve Rai and referred to a purported investigation involving a Sunshine Coast financial institution.

A woman then called through WhatsApp and claimed to represent the institution. She instructed the victim to transfer funds to an account to test the bank’s transaction systems as part of the supposed investigation. The victim transferred $70,000, followed by another $38,000.

RCMP said police will never ask people to transfer money, move it between accounts or deposit it into cryptocurrency accounts to assist an investigation. Banks will not request one-time passwords, authentication codes or online banking credentials over the phone.

Residents who receive suspicious calls should hang up and contact police or their bank using a publicly listed number, RCMP said. They should not send money, buy cryptocurrency or provide account access in response to an unsolicited call.