An international student in Kelowna has been scammed out of $3,500. RCMP say they received a report on Oct. 26 that the student attending a local post-secondary school was threatened with expulsion during a phone call. “The caller told the student she would be deported if she did not pay $3,500 via bitcoin. The victim, who was unfamiliar with Canadian laws, completed the transaction without telling his friends or family for fear they would confiscate it,” said Const. Mike Della Paolera. Government agencies will never ask for payment to be made using cryptocurrencies. If payment is required, state employees don’t use threats or extreme urgency like the tactics scammers use in these types of scams, police say. The RCMP say if a caller won’t let you get off the phone or makes any kind of threat if the call ends, it’s a scam and should be reported to the Canadian Fraud Center and local police. Regardless of whether money is given to the scammers or not, the police want the call reported. To avoid phone scams, remember that Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) does not:
collect money or payments over the phone or prepaid credit cards or through a private money transfer service provider (eg Pay Pal or MoneyGram). See how to pay your fees to learn how IRCC collects payments. asks you to confirm basic personal information you have already provided in a form.
In some phone scams, the caller pretends to be a police or immigration officer and tells you that you broke the law. It’s probably a scam or phishing scheme if:
you have to pay money, or you must provide personal information (date of birth, passport number, bank account or credit card details, etc.), or you are told that you will be arrested, go to jail, lose your visa or status, be deported or have your account suspended if you do not pay or provide your personal information.
Please note: Fraudsters often give a fake name and agent number to appear legitimate. If you think the caller is a scammer:
ask for the agent’s name and number and call the call center to confirm the identity of the agent. If you received a suspicious call, hang up immediately and: call the local police if you’ve lost money. report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
