SANDRA M STANWAY
Brooks Bulletin
A cryptocurrency scam has cost a Brooks man $280,000 after he got scammed into accessing crypto.com and wise.com.
On Jan. 14 the victim told police that during the summer he had invested through a platform on a website that initially appeared to be legitimate and trustworthy.
The man monitored their investment seeing that they were profiting, however, they recently discovered that the website was fraudulent.
Cpl. Sharon McCready of the Brooks RCMP detachment said the victim met a man through a Facebook ad for Fargo Investments.
“The victim had to e-transfer money to an account at crypto.com. Then the victim purchased either Etherium or Bitcoin transferred to a Fargo investment account,” she explained.
Bank transactions showed that the money was sent to both crypto.com and one to a wise.com.
Wise.com is crypto currency bank where you can buy bitcoin.
“However, this person took it from Wise.com to Fargo Investment. Fargo promised to use that money and make profit through sending the money in Australian dollars and then to US dollars with the promise of making money off the exchange rate.”
Wise.com was TransferWise.com but the company rebranded and dropped ‘transfer’.
According to Kapersky, an antivirus company, when the name changed cybercriminals decided to exploit victims when there was some initial confusion connected with the name change.
“An attack begins with a phishing e-mail purporting to be from the Wise support team. The e-mail informs the victim that due to the rebranding they need to “migrate their account to the new platform,” states Kapersky.
The victim was advised to report the scam to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and the file is currently under investigation.
Brooks RCMP is urging all residents to stay vigilant against online investment frauds which is a growing threat and which targets individuals through fake websites, social media ads and unsolicited messages.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, in 2023 $577 million was lost to fraud by Canadians. Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, 2024, $503 million had been lost.
Some of the fraudulent sites are Legacyfxtraders.online, some are romance scams where the victim is convinced they are in a relationship with the scammer and begin giving them money.
Most of the victims are lonely or elderly and fraudsters can spend months gaining their trust.
Everyone is reminded that if something sounds too good to be true it probably is.
If anyone promises you high returns with little or no risk or if you are pressured in anyway to make a decision, it’s fake.
Police urge residents to watch for fake websites, ads and platforms that promise high returns.
Always check with the provincial security regulators for website registration. You can also check a company’s legitimacy with the BBB.
Never provide any personal information including birth dates, banking information or SIN numbers with anyone whom you do not know.
Do not download any computer or phone app that you are told to do and which because they will allow scammers to access your bank information.
Be extra vigilant especially during tax season.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) advises that personal information should not be shared with a caller if you are not completely sure it is the CRA.
They suggest that you get the caller’s information including name, office name or location as well as a phone number to call back.
Tell the caller you will call them back after you verify the information.
Do not trust the phone number displayed on your caller ID but use it to check its verification through the CRA webpage at canada.ca.
If you have been a victim of a fraud immediately cease communication with the scammer.
Report it to your bank immediately to stop all payments and to ensure your accounts are secure and then contact the RCMP and Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 to report the crime.
A list of scams and how they work is available on the Canadian Anti-Fraud website.
