Scammers impersonate bank investigator, deputy chief in $10K fraud: Vancouver police

A Vancouver Police Department (VPD) patch is seen in Ottawa, on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Vancouver police are warning the public about a sophisticated scam after fraudsters posing as a bank investigator and a senior police officer allegedly convinced a victim to transfer $10,000.

The Vancouver Police Department said the victim was recently contacted by someone posing as an investigator from a major bank.

Police added that the call appeared to be legitimate because it came from a spoofed phone number displaying the bank’s contact information.

The scammer reportedly claimed the victim’s bank accounts had been compromised before a second fraudster, posing as VPD Deputy Chief Const. Alison Laurin, called the victim from what appeared to be the detachment’s non-emergency line.

“The fake DCC Laurin managed to convince the victim to hand over access to their bank account where the fraudsters transferred $10,000 from a line of credit to a chequing account,” reads a statement from the VPD on Tuesday.

“The victim was then instructed to withdraw the money and deposit it into a Bitcoin ATM. It was only after the deposit happened that the victim realized it was all a scam.”

Police are reminding residents that officers and banks will never ask people to transfer money, deposit funds into cryptocurrency accounts or share their online banking credentials over the phone.

The VPD is also urging anyone who receives a suspicious call to hang up immediately and report the incident to their local bank or police.