Grey Bruce OPP are unveiling the number of scams which took place in the area during Fraud Prevention Month, which resulted in victims looking upwards of $10,000.
OPP Constable Nick Wilson says in an email, during Fraud Prevention Month in March, they had a reported 16 fraud occurrences. While some were stopped before they started, and others might have thought there were being the victim of fraud, some of the scams resulted in residents loosing between $500 to $10,000.
“We are seeing businesses and community members become more aware of the reality that frauds and scams are happening within their communities, and we will continue our piece of education and enforcement to best aid these communities,” says Wilson in an email.
Wilson adds the scams which occurred across the area varied, however, most of the successful one were the grandparent scams, which fraudsters use to convince their victims a family members is in desperate need of money, usually as a result of a fake accident.
“We had some grandparent scams that were successful in March, causing the victim to lose thousands of dollars, and some were caught by us and other institutions such as banks and stopped before the victim lost anything,” says Wilson. “I would say there has been an increase in grandparent scams as of late, however, the other volumes have remained fairly consistent.”
He adds they also saw a case of cheque overpayment fraud, which usually take place when people are buying and selling or swapping things on platforms that support such trading. In this particular case, the individual sent a cheque written for much more then the purchase price, and asked the victim deposit it and send back the difference. When the victim does this, the cheque bounces, but the money still comes out of the victims bank account.
Additionally, Wilson says they also witnessed instances of credit card fraud as well, where some personal information is obtained pertaining to a payment method and purchases are charged to that card.
Grey Bruce OPP are not the only ones who have been dealing with fraud the past month, as South Bruce OPP recently issued a press release detailing a significant loss of $305,000.
“The Grey Bruce OPP will continue to investigate these occurrences, and work with those involved to ensure they are safe and have taken the appropriate steps to protect themselves. Members are encouraged to attend a local fraud presentation if you see one in your area, and if you ever have questions about a fraud or a scam, or if you think you’ve been a victim, please call the OPP right away. Never provide personal information online or over the phone, and remember to dispose of sensitive documents that contain information such as mail and bank statements, in a shredder or in a way that prevents someone from using them after you are done with them,” says Wilson.
More information on scams and fraud are available on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website here.