Sunshine Coast settlement and outreach coordinator Maria Giltrow is warning the public about an immigration scam that targeted one local Tibetan family recently.
The scammers called the family claiming to be with the RCMP in Ottawa and saying that the family had failed to file some paperwork with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
Giltrow said the scammer was able to change the call display on the Tibetan family’s phone to show the Ottawa RCMP contact number and the scammer used official sounding language, speaking both in English and Hindi.
“They said the failure to file the form resulted in the family having to pay money and that they had to pay today,” Giltrow said, noting the family was threatened with deportation if they did not comply.
“They quoted file numbers as a means of making the call sound official and told the family they could settle the problem with an immediate payment of $2,175 by Western Union to a name in India.”
The Tibetan family grew suspicious and contacted their Sunshine Coast sponsors, but not before they provided the scammer with their local address.
Sponsors told the Tibetan family not to pay the sum and then reported the incident to the RCMP.
“The sponsor was told that the RCMP cannot spend the time pursuing the activity because by the time that they have worked internationally and have tracked them down, they are gone,” Giltrow said.
Once Giltrow was made aware of the attempted scam, she looked on the CIC website where she found a warning about it that was posted in June of last year.
“What is concerning is that it looks like it’s a scam that is happening nationwide, so it’s a scary thought that somebody in the community was extorted and that there could possibly be other people being targeted,” Giltrow said.
She wants all immigrant families to be aware of the telephone scam that plays on fears of deportation.
“Threatening people with deportation is serious, especially for people who may not know they have permanent resident status and they’re not breaking any laws,” she said.
If anyone has doubts about the legitimacy of a call from someone purporting to be with or work on behalf of CIC, they can contact the CIC call centre at 1-888-242-2100 to confirm the call is genuine.
Telephone scams should also be reported to the local RCMP (604-885-2266) and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
