File: 23-1488
The Saint John Police are warning the public about a local scam.
It is alleged that:
On March 9, 2023, a customer received a call from a person claiming to be a representative of a local business.
The fraudster told the customer that their account had an outstanding balance, and their service would discontinued unless payment was made immediately.
The fraudster provided a toll-free number for the customer to call and make payment arrangements.
The customer called the toll-free number and followed what was believed to be the official customer service line. The customer was told that payment had to be made at a “payment centre”, which the Saint John Police believe was a local cryptocurrency machine.
The customer was sent a QR code with the company’s logo and told to scan the code at the payment centre to process the payment.
Before payment was made, the customer then called the actual telephone number for the business and discovered this was a scam.
REMEMBER:
-Do not provide personal or financial information during any inbound or unsolicited telephone calls.
-Fraudsters often create a sense of urgency to make payment. Always hang up and call the company back at trusted telephone number to verify the request.
-Payment requests via cryptocurrency should be a red flag.
If you believe that you may be a target of a scam, call the police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501).
