VANCOUVER -- Mounties in Nanaimo say they received more than a dozen calls about a COVID-19-related scam on Thursday, including some from callers who said they had provided personal information to the scammers.
The text-message-based scam is similar to one Nanaimo RCMP warned about late last month. The victim receives a text message indicating they are eligible to receive a payment from an "Emergency Response Fund," police said. The text includes a link for where the victim can claim the supposed payment.
Clicking on the link brings the victim to a web page that tells the victim they must provide their full name and social insurance number to have their claim processed. Mounties said some of the people who called the Nanaimo Detachment Thursday had done just that.
Anyone who provided such information should report it to credit rating agencies Equifax and TransUnion, police said, adding that Equifax can be reached at 800-663-9980 and TransUnion can be reached at 866-828-5961.
Those who receive the text but have not provided personal information to scammers do not need to call police, according to Nanaimo RCMP. Instead, they can report the scam to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
The centre also keeps a running list of COVID-19 scams, which Mounties have warned are spreading as fast as the coronavirus itself.
