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Renfrew OPP is warning of a new twist on a familiar scam after fraudsters got a senior to send them $5,000 in digital currency by threatening that he was facing arrest for unpaid taxes.

The man in his 70s in the Township of McNab Braeside got a call from someone pretending to represent the Canada Revenue Agency, OPP reported. The fraudster told the man that he would be arrested if he didn’t pay the agency.

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He was instructed to go to an Ottawa hotel that has a Bitcoin ATM and transfer the funds to an account number he was provided.

A spokeswoman for the detachment said that it’s the first case she recalled involving the digital currency, which is untraceable.

“The CRA does not operate in this manner,” police warned. “You are not threatened with arrest by legitimate employees of the CRA. Do not send the CRA iTunes cards, bitcoins or other forms of money transfers.

“If you are unsure who you are dealing with when receiving a call, hang up and call the CRA yourself.”