Phone scam (697area code) from 'Cyber Control Team'

[notrub]

I just had a call from an american claiming to represent a Canadian Bank saying than my canadian bank account had been hacked. After a long song and dance we got to a different subject of me paying a fine for my indiscreet online viewing of porn. Now he represented Thai Govt Cyber Control.  He said my indiscretion would be kept private and no further charges presented as long as I pay a small fine right away, today.  Transfer 3,500 CND today at the bank or the charges could be more serious.  Also I would have sign a NGA of some sort. I explained that the banks are closed today and the conversation lost its confident tenor.

 

This person knew about my (almost never used) Canadian details but nothing about me here in Thailand except my phone number.  I have multiple citizenships but they know only about my (unused) Canadian status but nothing else about me here.  I have had some (few) dealings with the Canadian embassy and they referred to that.  

 

Did they just randomly find me or could they have hacked the Canadian Embassy?

 

The name he gave me is Patrick and he was helpful and polite. 

 

Any Comments?  Thank you🙏

 

 

[CharlieH]

SCAM !

 

Do not pay anything. No legitimate authority operates this way.

Report the scam. In Canada, report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. In Thailand, you can report phone scams to the Royal Thai Police's cybercrime division.

Check your online security. If they had some real data, consider reviewing your online accounts, changing passwords, and enabling two-factor authentication.

It’s unlikely they hacked the embassy. They probably got your details from another source—possibly a leaked database, an old scam list, or social engineering.
 

[tomazbodner]

You may want to read this:

 

https://thailand.prd.go.th/en/content/category/detail/id/2078/iid/327803

 

Scam alert! Do not answer calls that begin with +697, +698