The Royal Canadian Mounted Police – or RCMP – in Burnaby, a district of Vancouver in British Columbia, reported an increase in Bitcoin-related (BTC) scams throughout the city. This news comes amidst recent reports of similar activities taking place across Canada.

Authorities say the scammers are calling their victim and posing as members of the RCMP. The scammer then falsely claims that the police have a warrant for the victim’s arrest in connection with the fraudulent activity.

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The different phone numbers used in the scam calls
Multiple phone numbers are used in these attacks. Victims often receive multiple calls from different numbers, and are told that if they alert any family members to the calls, they will be arrested as well.

The scammer then requests a payment, saying the funds must be deposited through a Bitcoin ATM.

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The Burnaby RCMP has warned that similar scams have involved suspects claiming to be from the CRA as well. They stated that Canadian police forces do not accept Bitcoin as a means of payment, and will never solicit deposits at Bitcoin ATMs.

About $11,000 was stolen from a single victim

The authorities detailed that „This scam recently cost a local resident almost 15,000 CAD [USD 11,000].

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The RCMP is currently investigating two Bitcoin-related scams in Strathcona County in Alberta, Canada. Cointelegraph also reported June 19 that a similar scam has reportedly targeted residents of Winnipeg, Canada.