The Diabolical World of Phone Scams

Criminals impersonating the CRA, Canada Post and other government agencies are often employed by elaborate overseas operations with thousands of workers. How the RCMP busted the biggest fraud ever to target Canadiansand why they can't keep up anymore.

- SARAH TRELEAVEN

In August of 2019, a woman in Alberta-I'll call her Evelyn-received a phone call from a man who said his name was Richard. He told her he was an investigator working with the RCMP and TD Bank, and he was calling to let her know that her credit card had been compromised by a criminal network operating in her neighbourhood. He arranged a follow-up call for her with another man, Mark, who also claimed to be an investigator.

Mark said TD was launching an internal investigation into the fraud and wanted Evelyn to take on an important mission: to assist police and the bank to track down the credit card thieves. But she'd have to keep their conversation private, along with her role in the investigation.

Evelyn was scared and reluctant, but she followed Mark's instructions. First, she allowed him remote access to her computer and online banking. Then she received what appeared to be a deposit into her chequing account. Mark told her the money was from the RCMP, and she should withdraw it in cash and send it to an associate of his. What she didn't know was that this was a sleight of hand: Mark had moved the money from her own credit card and savings into her chequing account without her knowing.

Wary, Evelyn considered contacting the RCMP herself, but Mark cautioned her against it. After all, he reminded her, he was already working with the police. He instructed her to drive to a bank, keeping her phone charged all the way. Hands shaking, Evelyn withdrew $29,700. It seemed strange, but the instructions were so specific, and the stakes so high, and she'd had so little time to think it all through. Mark told her to take the cash and wrap it in tinfoil, then send it by courier to an apartment in Mississauga, Ontario. She was to address the packages to a person named Omar Ali.