Guelph woman loses $19K in bitcoin scam, police say

A Guelph woman has lost $19,000 after being scammed by someone posing as a police officer, Guelph police say.

Police say the woman got a phone call around noon on Wednesdaywith the caller ID reading "Guelph Police."

When she answered the phone, a male caller identified himself as an officer with the Guelph Police Service, according to a news release. The caller told the woman that there was a bank account in her name with $1,000,000 in itand asked her what she wanted to do with the money.

When the woman told the caller she didn't have $1,000,000, the caller then told her that she must be the victim of identity fraud, and that her real bank account was in danger.

The caller then told the woman to empty her bank account and deposit the money in a bitcoin machine at a store near Gordon St. and Wellington St. E., police say.

Police say the caller told her that her account would be secured and an officer would give her a cheque with her money on Thursday. The woman then went to different banks withdrawing money. She deposited $19,000 into the bitcoin machine, police say.

When she didn't receive word from an officer on Thursday, the woman contacted Guelph police and was told she'd been the victim of a scam.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

Guelph police say they would like to remind the public to be careful if they've been contacted by a stranger. They say police officers would never contact members of the public to purchase bitcoin, gift cards or to send money to assist with an investigation.