Paul Servos says a slick-talking fraudster tried to rope him into a scam involving B.C. Hydro, but he caught on to the ruse and hung up before any money changed hands.
Servos, who owns the Flag Shop in downtown Victoria, figured small businesses might be a target because the person running the operation is not always the one taking care of the books.
“In my case, I give it to the accountant to take care of it.”
He said the person who called him asked for a cash payment, saying Servos’ account was in arrears,
“Despite our experience at these things, we found them very believable,” he said. “Fortunately, I could check my account online while I was in discussions and that made me realize that it was scam.”
Servos contacted B.C. Hydro after the call and was told the corporation was aware there was a scam going around.
Oak Bay police said they were contacted about the same fraud, which was also averted after a potential victim got suspicious.
In that instance, police said they received a report that someone claiming to work for B.C. Hydro was calling people to say the power would be turned off if payment wasn’t made within an hour.
A number to call and make arrangements to pay was provided.
The complainant called and spoke with another purported employee, who became aggressive when questioned about what was happening and if the payment could be made in person.
At that point, the complainant sensed something was going on and hung up and called B.C. Hydro, which confirmed it was all bogus.
No money was lost.
B.C. Hydro spokesman Ted Olynyk said the utility never collects credit card and bank information over the phone. He warned that scammers sometimes send texts with phoney links or use “phone spoofing” technology to make calls appear to come from a legitimate source.
“Any doubt, just hang up and call 1-800-BCHYDRO,” he said.
