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Thousands lost to fraudster claiming to be with B.C. Hydro

The scammer told the man his utility bill had not been paid and his power was about to be shut off, and demanded payment in bitcoin.
Cellphone-scam-BrianAJackson-iStock-Getty Images Plus
Oak Bay police say scams relating to B.C. Hydro come up from time to time.

Oak Bay police say a man was scammed out of $3,000 by someone fraudulently claiming to be a B.C. Hydro employee.

The scammer told the man his utility bill had not been paid and his power was about to be shut off. The man was told to make immediate payment in bitcoin, and arranged to send it to the scammer.

The B.C. Hydro fraud comes up from time to time, with Oak Bay police saying last fall that they had received a report of a similar scam. No money was lost in that case as the person sensed something was wrong and hung up, then called B.C. Hydro, which determined it was a scam.

jbell@timescolonist.com