Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Tracadie, N.B. are investigating a scam that has defrauded three victims of more than $20,000.

The RCMP received three reports since June 29, 2020 of individuals receiving what appeared to be an e-transfer of funds. When recipients clicked to accept the e-transfer, they unknowingly gave the fraudsters access to the e-transfer recipient’s bank accounts and any credit cards linked to the accounts, according to the RCMP report. The fraudsters can then withdraw money and use the credit cards.

In its bulletin on the incidents, the Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick warned consumers unaware of the sender of e-transfers not to click on the links, and to report e-mails with an unexpected offer of a money transfer to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre provides a number of tips about common scams used to defraud Canadian consumers. It also provides a portal to accept reports of fraud, though its call centre is closed and its offices are operating at a reduced capacity due to COVID-19. It currently advises consumers to report any fraud-related incidents to their local police.