Police are warning the public after an Oak Bay man lost $27,000 in an online scam.
The victim told police that a pop-up appeared on his computer indicating his Microsoft program had been hacked and his bank account was compromised.
The man called the number provided on the screen and spoke with someone who claimed to be a bank representative. He withdrew $27,000 from his account and deposited it into bitcoin machines before realizing he had been scammed.
The police investigation is ongoing.
Oak Bay police said several other scams have been reported recently, including one in which a resident received a phone call from someone claiming to be aTelus worker. A service upgrade at a significant discount was offered.
That was followed by an email and another call saying that a “credit test” was needed. Four digits from the person’s social insurance number, a bank name and a credit card number were asked for.
The victim discovered later that Telus was not running a promotion and was able to cancel the credit card before any money was lost.
The 91原创 Anti-Fraud Centre says it has received 29,294 reports of fraud so far this year, with 18,609 victims losing $163.9 million.
The centre offers the following tips to keep yourself safe from scams and frauds:
• Look online for contact information for the company that supposedly called you, and call them to confirm.
• Verify any calls with your credit card company by calling the phone number on the back of your credit card.
• Beware of unsolicited calls where the caller asks for personal information, such as your name, address birthdate, social insurance number, credit card or banking information.
For more information, go to .
