SURREY RCMP are informing the public of a recent rise in scams involving individual(s) who are impersonating either a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) or a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer.

Five reports of this scam were received by the Surrey RCMP on June 9. In these cases, the complainants said the caller(s) claimed to be an RCMP or CBSA officer and requested a sum of Bitcoin, in exchange for criminal charges being waived. In some of the cases, funds were transferred to the caller.

Surrey RCMP are urging anyone that receives this type of call, not to send any money and to report the incident to their police of jurisdiction.

“There is no circumstance where police will contact individuals requesting Bitcoin,” said Sgt. Ryan Forbes of the Surrey RCMP Economic Crime Unit. “These scammers typically contact hundreds of people hoping that someone will send them money.”

If you or someone you know is a victim of this type of crime, call and report the incident to Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 or, if you wish to make an anonymous report, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.solvecrime.ca.

Surrey RCMP also recommends reporting these scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by going to their website or by calling 1-888-495-8501.