Kingston, Ontario police have issued regional alert warning residents of scam artists trying to steal money from them in the form of bitcoin transfers.
The scam artists “have been calling people in the community and impersonating police officers,” a news release indicated.
They proceed to let their victims know that their personal banking accounts, Social Insurance Number, or other types of personal information have been compromised and involved “in a major fraud case or money laundering investigation.”
Victims are then asked to send funds converted to Bitcoin in order to fix the issue.
“There have been already been two reported cases of this occurring in Kingston and on both occasions, the scammers were able to procure large sums of money from the victims via fraudulent means,” the release read.
The police are informing the public that officers would never contact individuals asking for payment over the phone, as well as in the form of bitcoin.
“Stop and think about what is being asked of you and do not fall for the scammer’s tricks,” the police warn.
The news release indicated that if you have been a victim of this scam to contact D/Sgt Stacey at cstacey@kingstonpolice.ca.
Source: Kingston Police
