Man thought he was paying power bill by phone; he got a scammer instead

When West Hants resident Drew Kaulback wanted to pay his Nova Scotia Power bill, he did what most people do: he searched for the phone number online.

A toll-free number popped up as the first result and he called it.

The number was not, in fact, the utility but instead a sponsored link for an elaborate scam that would leave him scrambling to secure his accounts.

The man who answered asked him for his account number and birthdate as identification and asked if Kaulback would prefer to pay by credit card over the phone or by email transfer.

Kaulback opted to pay by card.

Before he gave out his card number, he asked the scammer to prove that he was working for Nova Scotia Power by telling him the date of his last bill, the amount that was owed and how much was paid.

The man put Kaulback on hold briefly and came back with the correct information. Kaulback is unclear how the scammer managed to get that information.

Reassured, Kaulback provided his card details and was told that he might have to approve a text message from his bank for the payment to go through.

When no text message arrived, the scammer asked Kaulback to call his bank and approve the payment. 

Still believing the scammer, Kaulback put him on hold, called his bank and asked the bank representative who answered to approve the payment.

She told him his card showed a pending payment for $692 but in U.S. funds and the bank had "intercepted and blocked it," he said.

The bank representative told him it was almost certainly a scam.

Kaulback asked the representative to cancel his card and returned to the call on hold.

He chastised the scammer, telling him, "You should be ashamed," and hung up.