Burnaby RCMP’s Investigative Support Team is warning the public of a fraud where callers claiming to be Chinese government officials are attempting to extort money from people.
The call often begins with an automated recording claiming to be a message from a service or company that may be familiar to the victim, said a Burnaby RCMP news release.
“Once the victim is put through to a live agent (the fraudster), the fraudster will attempt to convince the victim that they have been implicated in a criminal offence in China and that they will risk extradition by Chinese government officials if they do not cooperate with their demands,” says the RCMP.
The latest incident was reported to the Burnaby RCMP on Nov. 1. “Investigators were surprised to learn that the victim, who is a Chinese national studying in Canada, had been contacted by the fraudsters over the span of seven months as part of their scheme,” said a news release.
“While telephone scams are nothing new, what is concerning is the level of sophistication and the persistence displayed by the suspects,” saidCpl. Freda Fong with Burnaby RCMP’s Investigative Support Team. “
This type of scam, also known as virtual extortion, tends to involve a group of suspects operating together in an elaborate scheme; thereby, creating a believable story.”
In this case, the victim had accepted an automated call from what he believed to be a courier service.
Once he was put through to a suspect posing to be an employee, that suspect then transferred the victim to a second suspect posing to be a Chinese police officer.
Over several months, the suspects elicited personal information from the victim and ultimately demanded a large sum of money. The victim reported the incident to the Burnaby RCMP and did not suffer any loss, police said.
