Guelph police say more residents have fallen victim to a Bitcoin scam that appeared to return to the city this week after similar incidents earlier this year in which two women were bilked out of thousands of dollars.
A 15-year-old girl lost $600 on Monday and a woman lost $2,920 on Tuesday after they both received a phone call from a man posing as a police officer.
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Warning issued after 78 Waterloo Region residents duped by Bitcoin scams in 2020
In both cases, police said the man told the victim that she owed money to multiple people, including the Canadian Revenue Agency, and that she also needed a new social insurance number.
The victims were then instructed to withdraw money from their own accounts and deposit it into a Bitcoin machine at a business near Gordon and Wellington streets.
The girl and the woman both followed the instructions, but then reported it to Guelph police after realizing it was a scam.
Two women lost thousands of dollars back in March. One lost $9,500 a day after another woman lost $19,000.
In those cases, police said the woman received a call from someone posing as a police officer who instructed them to deposit money in a Bitcoin machine near Gordon and Wellington streets.
In August, Waterloo Regional Police said dozens of its residents had fallen victim to the scam. In one case, a victim lost $10,000 and in another, someone lost $19,000.
At the time, police said, in total, Waterloo Region residents have been duped for more than $430,000 in 2020. Twenty-nine of the 78 victims were scammed in July alone.
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2nd Bitcoin scam in as many days costs Guelph resident $9,500, police say
Residents are being reminded that accredited businesses, governments, and law enforcement services will never instruct a person to deposit money into a Bitcoin machine.
They will also never call someone and ask for personal information while threatening to lay criminal charges.