Vancouver – The Vancouver Police Department is advising the public that VPD officers will never ask for money. This warning comes as sophisticated fraudsters continue to call members of the public while posing as VPD senior officers in an attempt to convince victims to transfer large sums of money.

The Vancouver Police Department issued a similar warning last month after a victim was contacted by a scammer posing as Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) Alison Laurin. The fraudster convinced the victim to provide their banking information to another scammer who claimed to be a bank investigator. In that case, the victim lost $10,000.

More recently, on the Sunshine Coast, a victim lost $100,000 after being contacted by criminals posing as Chief Constable Steve Rai.

“Police, especially senior police officers, will never contact anyone and ask them to hand over money for an investigation of any kind,” said Acting Inspector Shiv Gill of the Vancouver Police Department’s Financial Crime Unit. “These criminals often operate from call centres overseas and have the ability to spoof legitimate Vancouver Police phone numbers. If something seems suspicious, hang up and contact your local police agency using a publicly listed phone number to verify the caller’s identity.”

How to Protect Yourself

  • Police officers will never ask members of the public to assist in criminal investigations by transferring money or depositing funds into cryptocurrency accounts.
  • Banks will never ask customers to provide one-time passwords, two-factor authentication codes, or online banking credentials over the phone.
  • Take your time. Legitimate organizations will not prevent you from verifying information or seeking advice before taking action.
  • Scammers can spoof phone numbers to make it appear that they are calling from a police department or government agency.
  • If you receive a suspicious call, hang up and contact your bank or police using a publicly listed phone number.
  • Never deposit money into a cryptocurrency ATM at someone’s direction. Once cryptocurrency is sent, the transaction is usually irreversible, making it difficult or impossible to recover funds.

Anybody who believes they have been the victim of a similar scam is advised to contact their financial institution immediately and notify their local police.