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.

Holly Hayball, 23, received an intimidating message on Sept. 18. A computer-generated voice  —  which sounded like a Northern American man —  warned her she was facing a lawsuit. 

Hayball believed the caller represented 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 scared Hayball and she called back. 

The person who answered said she was facing a lawsuit and she could face five years in 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 reports from people saying they had been victims of scams. In a press release on May 15, RCMP said with some scam calls, the caller 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 least 12 more reports of scams over two days. 

'Pleading to not get arrested'

Hayball said the caller used legalese language like informing her of her case file number and asking whether she had retained a lawyer. 

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

Hayball is 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 collection agent, transferred her call to another person who claimed to be a constable with the RCMP. That caller said Hayball was facing immediate arrest unless she made some payment right away.

Callers knew personal information

Hayball said she was suspicious. However, she said the 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 had travelled to Mexico and tried to use her Interac card to retrieve money at an Automated Teller Machine in the United States. 

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

Hayball said the 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 currency Hayball found suspicious.  

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

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

I literally just sat there 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," Hayball said. 

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

The callers asked Hayball to take photos of the numbers on the cards she purchased with her phone and then send them through a mobile texting application called WhatsApp.

The caller threatened Hayball with further consequences if she told anyone, saying the 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 

Hayball said she was "super shaken up" and told the story to her employer later that evening. The employer immediately thought the call was fraud. Hayball then called police who confirmed they'd never request payment in that way. 

"And I literally just sat there for a minute thinking... 'I knew it,'" Hayball said.

Hayball has 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 also gone to Yukon RCMP to 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 story to try and help others avoid getting scammed.  

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