Yukoner warns others after losing $2,500 in telephone scam

A Yukoner is trying to warn others after she lost $2,500 to a telephone scam.

HollyHayball, 23, received an intimidating message on Sept. 18. A computer-generated voicewhich sounded like a Northern American man warned hershe was facing a lawsuit.

Hayball believed the callerrepresented the Canada Revenue Agency and that she would be arrested if she didn't immediately pay the agency.

Hayball replayed the voicemail, which said,"If I don't hear a call from you, we will have to issue an arrest warrant in your name."

The message scaredHayballand she called back.

The person who answeredsaid she was facing a lawsuit and she could facefive yearsin jail for tax fraud.

At least 60,000 Canadians have complained about being targeted by the phone scam over the past five years. At least $10 million dollars have been stolen in that time, making it one of the largest cyberscams in Canadian history.

Whitehorse RCMP issued two warnings to Yukoners in May, after they received multiple reportsfrom people saying they had been victims of scams. In a press release on May 15, RCMP said with some scam calls, thecaller ID may appear to be the number of the local RCMP, something called "caller ID spoofing."

RCMP also issued a reminder on Aug. 2 after receiving at least12 more reports of scamsovertwo days.

'Pleading to notget arrested'

Hayball said the caller usedlegalese language likeinforming her of hercase file numberand asking whether she hadretained a lawyer.

"They acted like they were trying to help me," she said.

Hayballis new to filing taxes and the caller "basically said there was a misfiling of your paperwork and you owe the government $5,000 and we're putting you under arrest."

"I talked to them on the phone basically pleading to not get arrested," she said.

The caller, claiming to be a collectionagent, transferred her call to another person who claimed to be a constable with the RCMP.That caller saidHayballwas facing immediate arrest unless she made some payment right away.

Callers knew personal information

Hayballsaid she was suspicious. However, she saidthe callers knew personal information about her and her finances.

This included her home address and the number on her bank card. They also knew her birthday, though not the year of her birth.

The callers also knew her bank account had recently been locked after she hadtravelledto Mexico and tried to use herInteraccard to retrieve money at an Automated Teller Machine in the United States.

"Every question I had, they had an answer," she said.

Hayballsaidthe callers kept repeating that she'd be arrested if she didn't comply.

Payment in Bitcoin

The callers demanded immediate payment.However, they asked for currencyHayballfound suspicious.

At first they requested she find a Bitcoin ATM of which there are none in the Yukon. They then instructedHayballto drive downtown and purchase Google Play gift cards, which can be used to buy electronics and media online.

With hercellphonein her hand, afraid to hang up,Hayballwent to the Shoppers Drug Mart on Main Street in Whitehorse and purchased $2,500 worth of Google Play cards. She said the pharmacy clerkdouble-checked the amount, but didn't ask further about the purchase.

I literally just satthere for a minute thinking...'I knew it.'- Holly Hayball

"The cashier definitely looked taken aback by what I was buying, but he didn't say anything. I kept questioning it, but you're so scared. The knowledge they had on me was intimidating enough, let alone them threatening me and intimidating me the entire time,"Hayballsaid.

Google Play cards have numbers which are revealed by scratching the back.

The callers askedHayballto takephotosof the numbers on the cards she purchasedwith her phoneand then send them through a mobile texting application calledWhatsApp.

The callerthreatened Hayball with further consequences if she told anyone, sayingthe payment was a police matter and she was bound by a legal confidentially agreement.

"I was super super scared the whole day. Even afterwards I was scared because I didn't make the whole payment,"said Hayball.

No refund

Hayballsaid she was "super shaken up" and told the story to her employer later that evening.The employerimmediately thought the call wasfraud.Hayballthen calledpolicewho confirmed they'd never request payment in that way.

"And I literally just satthere for a minute thinking... 'I knew it,'"Hayballsaid.

Hayballhas since gone to her bank. She has been told she cannot cancel the transfer or get a refund because she bought the gift cards herself.

She has alsogone to YukonRCMPto give a statement but she doesn't think she'll get her money back.

Hayball said she is trying to keep a positive attitude about what happened.She is also telling her storyto try and help others avoid gettingscammed.

Have you been scammed? Contact PhiippeMorin at philippe.morin@cbc.ca.