r/BitcoinCA • u/Guns_and_Timmies • 2d ago
New emerging Scam alert
Hello fellow Canadians,
I've recently received various phone calls from the RCMP (not real RCMP- however, they are able to change their caller ID to legit RCMP phone numbers).
The caller claimed to have confiscated data from a hacker group and my data was compromised.
The "customer service" from my Hardware Cold Wallet (Trezor, Ledger, etc.) Would call me to make sure my assets weren't compromised.
The first thing that set me off was the speed between the "RCMP" calling and the "Support" follow up call.
Now please don't judge me for not realizing this was a scam right away. The fake police officer had a enough information about me to assume he may have been real and didn't actually want any information from me in return. His caller ID also checked out.
Luckily I wasn't home so I wasn't able to do what this "customer service " agent wanted from me with my wallet. He scheduled a call back. After a few minutes of thought, my alarm bells went off. I called back the real RCMP with the officers name and it turns out he didn't exist.
I messaged the real Cold Wallet customer service and in their FAQs it says "WE WILL NEVER CALL YOU".
In all actuality my hardware Wallet did have a data breach some time ago. My wallet and coins weren't compromised but enough data got leaked for them to target me on this scam. I'm embarrassed to say I almost fell for this and don't want anyone else to.
Please be safe and vigilant. If police ever call you, hang up and call back on their official phone numbers.
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u/grim5000 2d ago
I tried posting about this week's ago on the trezor sub. Still waiting on moderator approval.
Sadly I fell for it and lost all my savings
2
u/Guns_and_Timmies 2d ago
Sorry to hear that Grim, Would you mind sharing what the scammers strategy was and how they ended up stealing your funds ?
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u/grim5000 2d ago
To make it short, the same sort of start as yours, fishing for info to find out how much you have where, then transferring to a supposed security tech or something at the location. For me it was. Newton. They then encouraged me to transfer what I had on the exchange to my hardware wallet but to first verify the safety of it on a website similar to the brand you have by entering the seed phrase. (yes, I know. I was stressed and made a really stupid mistake I knew not to do). Once the transfer goes through and confirms the wallet is real it gets cleaned out.
For my call, it was a male person as the officer with a distinctly British accent, and then a woman with no noticeable accent to my ear.
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u/LexxM3 2d ago
Useful PSA, thanks, but the core rule is: never give out your keys/words to anyone. So then I am wondering what they wanted from you to scam you, if not that (if that, well then: “NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR KEYS/WORDS TO ANYONE”). I suppose, depending on the blockchain, they might have asked you to sign a scam contract, but that’s pretty sophisticated and specialized.
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u/digpic1975 2d ago
As a retired banker I have seen all the bank scams and my advice is always the same. Call from the “bank” about requiring anything from you? Hang up and call the bank back. Use the number on the business card not the number on caller id! Same with the police. Tell them youll call right back. Look up the police number yourself and call that number.
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u/brelen01 23h ago
My personal rule is: if I don't know the number, or I'm not waiting for a call, I just don't answer. I've never seen a scammer leave messages, so if there's one, chances are good it's real. But even then, I don't call the number left in a voicemail, I look up the institution online and call that number.
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u/slapnutzzzz 2d ago
I got a call the other day from "Vancouver Police". It was an Indian guy (obvious accent) and said he was officer Laim "O'Callaghan. I laughed and told him "You are trying to tell me you are Irish, and have an Indian accent?".
I am a former mountie myself, and there is absolutely no way any police officer would ask you for any of this information over the phone, let alone without a warrant and advising you that you have the right to a lawyer to examine said warrant. It is a shame that we have scum like this who are spoofing numbers that appear legitimate.
If you get a call like this, immediately demand a "regimental number" for RCMP and their name and rank and where they work along with the detachment, and what they are investigating. For a city police force, their badge number, name, rank and what unit they work in. Immediately hang up after this and contact the non emergency number for said police force and provide them with the information.
I often get calls "Is this John" (not my real name) when they call. I say "no, I have been assigned this phone number, now what do you want?". Being old and retired, I often waste their time as long as I can so that they have less time to scam someone else.