Beware of new employment and interest rate scams targeting Canadians

New investment scams are doing the rounds in Canada.

Scams and frauds have been all too common in Canada in the last few years. In October 2022, CRTC staff recieved a scam email from fraudsters posing as Ian Scott, former chairperson of the CRTC, while a recent Netflix refund scam targeted an individual, with the scammer telling the victim that they were eligible for a refund and asking for their banking information.

According to the Niagara Police, scammers are now targeting Canadians on WhatsApp with an interest rate and an employment scam.

With the interest rate scam, scammers normally contact victims through WhatsApp and ask them to join a group called “Global E-Commerce,” under the assumption that they’re investing in a high-interest savings account. Victims are then directed to the following website domain: https://www.main.oba.global.com.

In the case of the employment scam, the scammer posts a fraudulent employment opportunity to which an unsuspecting victim responds. Once the victim responds, the suspect will inform them that they have been hired for the job and assign them small tasks to complete. After completing the tasks, the suspect will transfer money to the victim to give the impression that the job is genuine.

However, the suspect will then ask the victim to pay an administration fee, which is a larger sum than the nominal task payment. In both interest rate and employment scams, the suspects will stop communicating with the victim once they have received the money. The suspects in these scams request that the victim transfer the money electronically.

It is important for Canadians to be vigilant and not click on links or websites that guarantee money.

Source: Niagara Police