B.C. police warn public COVID-19 scams on the rise

Reports of scam victims have increased dramatically as fraudsters take advantage of the pandemic, B.C. Mounties say.

They're warning the public of COVID-19 scams circulating through social media, email and text messages.

Recent COVID-19 scams include:

• Companies offering fake COVID-19 tests and selling unproven virus treatments
• Scammers impersonating the Public Health Agency of Canada to access personal information and credit card numbers
• Cleaning companies claiming their duct cleaning can protect people from COVID-19 

The Nanaimo RCMP reports receiving a number of calls from individuals contacted by fraudsters offering one of the above scams.

"Very few of the callers to our detachment indicated that they were duped into providing compromising information, and were advised to call or report the interaction to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre," Constable Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP said in a press release.

To learn more about COVID-19 scams and others, visit the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre website.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brie Welton or call (250) 819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.