Canada - PSA: Police warning social network scam targeting men, July 2015

[dotr]

" The Toronto Police Service would like to make the public aware of a scam targeting male social networking users of the app WeCHAT.

WeCHAT is predominantly used in the Asian community, and is a dating app for men to meet women.

It is reported that:

- after a male WeCHAT user reaches out to a woman on the app, she requests that he provide iTunes gift cards with activation codes for a value of a few hundred dollars

- she assures him that, when they meet, she will return the value in cash

- after the initial encounter, the demand for more iTunes gift cards or money transfers escalates

- threats of revealing the online relationship to the male user's family are made

The suspects of the scam are believed to be located outside Canada."

http://torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/32243

 

[dotr]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/wechat-messaging-app-linked-to-blackmail-scam-1.3138053

"A free messaging and calling app popular in the Asian community is being used by scammers to blackmail men who use it to meet women, according to Toronto police.
WeChat is a free messaging and calling app used by more than half a billion people around the world.

Investigators say after a victim reaches out to someone on the WeChat app, he will be asked to send iTunes gift cards worth a few hundred dollars, along with its activation codes"