The Prince George RCMP are sounding the alarm on a new type of scam, called “hitman” or “assassin” scams.
“This is a newer one to Prince George, we haven’t seen this one reported too often,” said Cpl. Jennifer Cooper.
“In this type of fraud, victims are contacted through email or text and are given threatening messages that the sender has been sent to kill them, either because they’ve been sent by someone who’s betrayed the victim, or because they’ve allegedly been studying the victim for some time.”
Cooper said the sender then offers to cancel the contract for a large sum of money, requesting the money in cryptocurrency or Bitcoin.
“While we recognize that these messages can be alarming, it’s important to remember this is a type of fraud or scam that’s designed to create a sense of urgency and alarm,” Cooper said.
“It’s important to remember that these are a type of extortion, and to never send any money, as there’s no guarantee that sending the money will stop the messages or demands.”
Cooper recommends checking privacy settings on social media, as that’s where the fraudsters get the info.
“The fraudsters are pretty clever at gathering personal details from social media or the internet in general about the person they’re attempting to fraud, which they include in these messages,”
“So if you have a lot of personal details out there, possibly where you work, or your date of birth, or close friends and family if you have those publicly-made bits of information, they’ll include those in the messages to make it sound legitimate and make it sound like this could actually be something that’s really going to happen to you.”
Cooper said anyone who receives one of these messages is encouraged to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to make a report.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
