A Vancouver Island resident’s attempt to rent a home led them to becoming a ‘money mule’ in an international fraud ring.<\/p>\n
Oak Bay police report a resident sent $2,100 via e-transfer to a prospective landlord in Vancouver, which was later confirmed to be fraudulent.<\/p>\n
“Police initiated an investigation involving a judicial authorization to trace the funds to an account in Quebec, where the holder had unknowingly acted as a “money mule” for an international fraud suspect met through an online dating site,” according to a Nov. 26 release from the Oak Bay Police Department, who received assistance from the Surete du Quebec.<\/p>\n
Police say the individual had converted funds into cryptocurrency and was also defrauded.<\/p>\n
The international suspect and their whereabouts remain unknown.<\/p>\n
Oak Bay police have issued a reminder on ways to prevent becoming a victim of fraud. Never send money to someone you haven’t met in person. Do not accept e-transfers for others – this enables fraudsters to move proceeds of crime.<\/p>\n
For rentals, insist on a walk-through before payment. Be wary of pressure tactics or threats demanding immediate payment. If in doubt, contact your local police for advice or to report concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Vancouver Island victim’s payment flipped to cryptocurrency, Oak Bay Police say <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":160786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-regional-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n