Immigration Scam Warning

The Calgary Police Service Economic Crimes Unit is warning Calgarians of an immigration scam in which offenders have collected valid personal information about the victim.

Since Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015, it is believed that fraudsters took over $20,000 from two Calgary victims. CPS is also aware of a third incident on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015, in which no money was lost. These immigration scams use the same techniques as, and are often associated with, CRA scams.

In these cases, victims were typically contacted via phone by people pretending to be an employee with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The fraudsters claimed that the victim’s immigration status was in jeopardy and that the victim needed to pay money to correct the issue, or face deportation. In these instances, the scammers also had valid personal information about the victims and their families, such as names and date of births, to try and legitimize the fraudulent claim.

The offenders continued to threaten the victims with deportation and in one case, the offenders told the victim they would send RCMP officers to victim’s house to collect the money or alternatively arrest the victim. In this case, two dark-skinned, possibly Southeast Asian, Hispanic or Aboriginal men in dark-blue uniforms attended the victim’s residence in a white, newer model, four-door car. The offenders then drove the victim down to the Calgary Courts Centre where one of the offenders entered the building and returned to the vehicle with more fraudulent paperwork that questioned the victim’s immigration status. In total, the victim spent over eight hours on the phone with the offenders and sent four separate money transactions.

In some cases, the originating phone number is 1-613-993-7267, which is the number for RCMP National Headquarters General Inquiries line. It is believe the offenders are cloning this number to legitimize their claims. Calgarians should be aware that the RCMP does not contact individuals for the purpose of collecting fines or taxes, and never asks the public to make a payment over the telephone.

The investigation by the CPS Economic Crimes Unit is ongoing.

Police encourage anyone who believes they may have lost money to one of these scams to call the Calgary Police non-emergency line at 403-266-1234. Anyone who may have other information about these scams is asked to contact the non-emergency number, or Crime Stoppers anonymously using any of the following methods:

TALK: 1-800-222-8477
TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org
TEXT: tttTIPS to 274637

Citizens can help protect themselves using the following practices:
· Do not feel pressure to respond to a request until you have a chance to verify the story.
· Never transfer money, or give out credit card or other financial information, until you can verify the person’s identity and the story, and determine whether it is legitimate.
· The RCMP or CIC will not ask for payment via prepaid credit cards or wire transfer.
· Verify the number given to you through online sources, and then hang up and phone that number back, if legitimate, to confirm the caller’s identity.
· Don’t believe what you see. Business logos, websites and email addresses can easily be duplicated to look legitimate.
· Ignore calls for immediate action or messages that create a sense of urgency.
· Never provide personal information such as SIN, bank account information or credit card numbers.

Firearms Licence Fraud

The Calgary Police Service Economic Crimes Unit is warning firearms purchasers about a recent fraud to obtain Possession and Acquisition Licences.

On Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015, police were alerted to two cases in which two separate private gun buyers responded to online for sale ads to purchase guns. During the transaction, the sellers spoke to the buyers over the phone, offering to sell them guns that were to be paid for by e-transfers. As per regulations, the buyers gave the sellers their PAL numbers.

When the e-transfers took place, the banks notified the buyers the accounts were fraudulent and the e-transfers were stopped before money could be lost.

Police believe the fraudsters posing as gun sellers may be using the information gathered from potential buyers, specifically their PAL numbers, to illegally purchase guns.

Anyone who believes their PAL number has been compromised is asked to call the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST) at 403-428-8042 or 403-428-8043.

If you are selling a firearm, check with the Canadian Firearms Center to determine if a PAL is flagged by calling 1-800-731-4000.

If you are buying a firearm, ensure you have verified the seller before you provide any personal information, including your PAL number. Here are a few guidelines to follow:

· Ensure you are using a reputable website.
· Watch for multiple ads featuring the same photo and/or phone number. They may use different names on the ads, but the phone numbers are usually the same.
· Don’t be rushed by a seller. If they are pressuring you for a quick sale, there is often a reason.
· If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. If the gun is selling for way less than market value, the likelihood of a fraud increases.

CRA Scam

The Calgary Police Service Economic Crimes Unit is warning Calgarians of increasingly aggressive tactics being used to target people with what is known as the “CRA Scam.”

In the last week and a half, it is believed fraudsters have taken more than $50,000 from a number of Calgary victims. Since February 2015, more than 600 cases of fraud involving this scam have been identified in Calgary.

Victims are typically contacted by phone by people pretending to be with the Canada Revenue Agency. They often claim the victim owes a substantial amount of money in back taxes, or that their status in Canada is not legitimate. The offenders continue to threaten the victims with imprisonment and deportation. The victims are often forced to remain on their cell phone with the offenders, while they send money through money transfers, prepaid credit cards and cash deposits into numbered accounts. They will also ask for deposits to people, or a variety of different bank accounts.

If the victim challenges the offender, they are intimidated with threats of arrest, deportation, violence, sexual abuse and in some incidents, seizure of their children.
In a number of recent cases, the fraudsters have sent a taxi to the victim’s residence to take them to a money transfer location. Scammers are also making multiple phone calls to the victim, using different voices while posing as representatives of the CRA, Immigration Canada, the police and other authority figures.

In other instances, under duress, the victims have stayed on the phone for five hours and completed transfers due to the amount of fear that is being instilled by the offenders. The offenders will often use a call-spoofing system that displays a number with a “613” area code to help convince victims they are calling from the Ottawa area. They will also provide call-back phone numbers to the victims that look like legitimate phone numbers for these organizations.

While originally targeting new Canadians, police have now heard from a wide variety of victims.

Citizens can help protect themselves using the following practices:

· Do not feel pressure to respond to a request until you have a chance to verify the story.
· Never transfer money, or give out credit card or other financial information, until you can verify the person’s identity and the story, and determine whether it is legitimate.
· The CRA will not ask for payment via prepaid credit cards or wire transfer.
· Look up published numbers for the CRA in the phone book and confirm the legitimacy of the caller’s story. Do not call numbers provided to you by the person who called you.
· Don’t believe what you see. Business logos, websites and email addresses can easily be duplicated to look legitimate.
· Watch for poor grammar and spelling.
· Contact the business directly to legitimize the communication before you take any action. Search online to get contact information from an official source.
· Hover your mouse over links to check their true destination. If the URL doesn’t match the link, or seems suspicious, don’t click on it.
· Be wary of unexpected emails that contain links or attachments from unknown senders.
· Update your computer’s anti-virus software.
· Ignore calls for immediate action or messages that create a sense of urgency.
· Beware of Phishing emails posing as the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requesting personal information, or links within an email re-directing to a fraudulent website that appears to represent the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA does not email Canadians and request personal information.
· Never provide personal information such as SIN, bank account information or credit card numbers.

Police encourage anyone who believes they may have lost money to one of these scams to call the Calgary Police non-emergency line at 403-266-1234. Anyone who may have other information about these scams is asked to contact the non-emergency number, or Crime Stoppers anonymously using any of the following methods: