On May 29, 2023, police received a report of a Fraud Attempt. The complainant advises they received two phone calls from a number, which appeared to be the Brandon Police Service non-emergency line (204-729-2345). When the complainant answered, there was no response on the line. The complainant then received a phone call from a number, which appeared to be their spouse’s phone number. During this phone call, a person claiming to be a police officer told them that their spouse was in police custody and required bail money. The caller directed the complainant to withdraw $5000 after calling them a cab to take them to their bank. The complaint was directed to take the cab to another location and deposit the money into a Bitcoin ATM. The complainant did not do this, and instead brought the money to Brandon Police Service, where they learned the phone calls were a part of an elaborate scam.
If you receive phone calls like this:
HANG UP and call the number to your local police.
BE AWARE, fraudsters have the ability to spoof any phone number.
Brandon Police Service does not accept any money for persons requiring bail.
You will never be asked to deposit money into an ATM for someone requiring bail.
While this is similar to the Grandparent Scam, victims of any age can be targeted.
For more information on Frauds, please visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre:
https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
