Ontarian loses $215K in cryptocurrency scam after receiving fraudulent utilities bill

An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) patch is seen in Ottawa, on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

An Ontarian lost about $215,000 after trying to deal with an inflated utilities bill that ended up being fraudulent and being told to make cryptocurrency transactions to solve the problem, provincial police say.

South Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say they were dispatched to a home in the Municipality of Huron-Kinloss on Sunday after a resident reported falling victim to a fraud.

Police say the victim received a bill claiming to be from a utilities company that listed a higher price than usual.

“Through conversation with a representative, the victim was led to believe that there was a processing error and was instructed to make cryptocurrency transactions to rectify the issues,” the release reads.

Police say the whole interaction was fraudulent but did not provide further details about the scam.

South Bruce OPP Crime Unit has since taken over the investigation.

Provincial police warn residents to be cautious when “engaging in digital currency transactions and investments,” noting scammers tend to use fraudulent documents marked with legitimate logos and wording that can lead victims to offer personal information—like banking details—under the assumption they are speaking with the actual source.

They add that anyone who receives suspicious documentation to first contact the company or financial institution in person or through a phone number you know to be theirs. The contact information listed on the document could be fraudulent, OPP say.

Police are asking anyone with additional information to contact investigators.