A Winnipegger is warning others about a complex scam she says she almost fell for.

Destiny Funk said people pretending to work for Manitoba Hydro tried to trick her into making a deposit into a Bitcoin machine by using a lot of personal information and setting up scenes to make it appear very realistic.

On Monday afternoon, the 26-year-old received a call from someone claiming to be a Hydro technician, telling her they had a work order to shut off her power within the hour due to unpaid bills .

Funk said the person had his name and address and it all seemed very legitimate.

Money comes out of my account every month, Funk told the man. The — I quote — the “technician” said… “I’m just the technician… You’re going to want to contact them directly.

Funk said the man — who called from a 1-800 number — then gave him another number for Hydro, and even a work order serial number to provide to an agent.

The greeting says: “Welcome to the Manitoba Hydro Business Centre. » Please press 1 for this, please press 2 for billing,’ » Funk said.

I log in about 30 seconds after listening to music on hold and all.

“Completely false”

Funk said she then put a man online claiming to be a Hydro agent named John. John told her she was two months late on her payments and asked her for the transaction numbers to see if she had paid yet.

When Funk offered to send him a screenshot, John told him he should open a ticket and follow up the next day. The man said there was nothing he could do to stop the work order.

I’m not going to spend a whole day without electricity, Funk told him. He says, “Well, the only thing you can do in this situation is pay the balance. »

The woman said at no time did John ask her to pay over the phone, which she said would have been an immediate red flag.

Instead, he told her to go to Hydro headquarters to resolve the problem in person. When Funk said she couldn’t, John suggested she go to a authorized dealer.

The man listed some locations, including a nearby convenience store on Elizabeth Road. He told Funk there was a kiosk inside where she could pay, but all she needed was cash.

Funk said that’s when his alarm bells went off. She told John she would go to headquarters instead. When she got to the office, a real Hydro employee told her that was it. completely false.

They had the last four digits of my account number… they had my email address, my home address, clearly my phone number, Funk said, along with the exact amounts of what she would have owed if she hadn’t paid.

This is like the craziest, most elaborate scam I have ever experienced.

Funk said people told her the stores John mentioned all had Bitcoin kiosks after she posted about them on social media. She said she believed she was tricked into making the payment there.

Windsor Park Convenience – the store where Funk was asked to pay – warned customers about the scam on social media, saying their company was not involved.

Hydro aware of the scam

Manitoba Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the utility was aware of the scam.

He warned that customers may currently be more vulnerable to similar schemes due to the Canada Post strike, which is preventing customers from receiving their paper bills.

The spokesperson said Hydro does not make one-off or last-minute threats to cut off anyone’s power – and it does not accept payments by credit card, Interac e-Transfer , by cryptocurrency or by telephone.

He said while anyone can pay their bills at some companies, customers should call Hydro or check their website to confirm the location.

Manitoba Hydro also posted a public message on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday afternoon, saying the utility had heard of a scam and that customers should contact Hydro directly if they received a suspicious call.

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