An Ontarian lost about $215,000 after being told to make cryptocurrency payments to deal with an inflated utilities bill that turned out to be fraudulent.

According to the South Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), they were dispatched to a home in the Huron-Kinloss, Ont., municipality after a resident reported being the victim of fraud. According to police, the victim received a bill from a utilities company that seemed higher than usual.

After speaking with what they believed was a company representative, the victim was led to believe there was a processing error. They were instructed to make cryptocurrency payments to solve the issue.

The investigation has been passed to the South Bruce OPP Crime Unit, which deemed the interaction fraudulent.

The OPP has been dealing with cybercrime more lately, wrapping up Project Atlas in December. The four-week project was designed to combat cryptocurrency investment fraud. In total, more than $70 million was prevented from being stolen by cybercriminals. 2,000 crypto wallet addresses linked to victims were also identified.

The OPP is urging residents to be cautious when dealing with digital currency transactions and investments. It notes that scammers tend to use fraudulent documents marked with logos and wording that makes them appear legitimate. These documents can fool people into providing personal information, such as banking details, while assuming they are speaking with the intended source.

The OPP also asks that if anyone receives suspicious documentation to contact the company or financial institution either in person or through a known and trusted phone number. The contact info on the document could also be suspicious.

It’s worth noting that March is Fraud Prevention Month and organizations like the Canadian Telecommunications Association (CTA) are sharing tips to protect Canadians from these types of scams. A recent study found that Canadians lose nearly $1,500 on average to phone scams.

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Source: CTV News