Barrie businesses targeted in Bitcoin scam, police say

Police warn scam targets Barrie businesses Barrie police warn business owners about a new scam targeting local companies.

Barrie business owners are urged to speak with their employees about a rising scam involving cryptocurrency and Bitcoin targeting local companies.

This week, police say the local fraud unit received two complaints from businesses allegedly scammed into depositing cash into Bitcoin machines.

In both cases, police say employees were contacted and told to pay delivery charges for new equipment using company funds.

Shortly after the initial request, police say the workers received a text message from someone posing as their manager, confirming the instructions, so they complied and transferred the money.

"Fraudsters will use a sense of urgency to encourage victims to part with their money, but there's always time to stop and verify through a face-to-face or a direct call to the person the caller is claiming to be," Barrie police stated.