A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for 22-year-old Naman Grover who worked as a `money mule’ for Indian call centre scamsters
The Canadian Bazaar
TORONTO: Indo-Canadian man Naman Grover, 22, of Mississauga has been charged with working as a ‘money mule’ for call centre scamsters operating from India.
A Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for him. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) suspect he might have fled Canada.
Grover is linked to the Canada Revenue Agency phone scam, the bank investigator scam, and the tech support scam.
Phone scamsters from India have been targeting Canadians since 2014 by posing as representatives of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), banks, immigration and tech support agencies. They scare people into paying money or parting with their financial/credit card information immediately or face action.
The RCMP says these scamsters recruit local individuals as ‘money mules’ to receive money from their victims and then launder it to them.
In some cases, students coming on study visas have been recruited even before coming to Canada or while here to carry out these scams, the police says.
Naman Grover was uncovered as one of the ‘money mules/money mule managers’ after investigations by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
He has been charged with three counts under the Canada Criminal Code:
- Fraud over $5,000
- Possession of proceeds of crime
- Laundering proceeds of crime
RCMP investigations into rampant phone scams targeting Canadians started in October 2018 under Project Octavia.
It is estimated that between 2014 and 2020, the scamsters defrauded Canadians to the tune of $18 million through the CRA phone scam alone.
If the bank investigator and tech support scams are also included, the total losses suffered by Canadians are over $35 million.
Warning international students coming on study visa, RCMP Inspector Jim Ogden said, “Those who get involved as money mules will be arrested, criminally charged and prosecuted. Taking part in the illegal activities of these criminal organizations has other serious consequences; including revocation of student visas.”
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