Following an increase in calls related to crypto-currency and bitcoin, the Barrie police fraud unit is reminding business owners to talk to their employees about fraud awareness.
This week, city police say they have received two separate reports of local businesses that were contacted and asked to pay delivery charges for new equipment by taking cash from the business and depositing it into a bitcoin machine.
"The initial request was then followed by a text from someone claiming to be the manager, confirming the request to deposit the money into the bitcoin machine," police stated in a news release. "In both cases, the employees complied with what they believed to be legitimate requests from their supervisors."
Police say fraudsters will use a "sense of urgency to encourage victims to part with their money, but there’s always time to stop and verify through a face-to-face, or a direct call to the person the caller is claiming to be."
For more information recent frauds and types of scams, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s website by clicking here.
