Grey Bruce OPP are bringing attention to e-transfer scams as they mark fraud prevention month.
Provincial Police say it has been seeing a lot of calls for service in the region from people regarding this type of scam.
Police say the scam includes a con artist on sites like Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji who requests the buyer send an e-transfer to hold an item they want to purchase. When the buyer attends the address to pick up the item, however, they visit a fake address or don’t see the item, and the seller deletes their profile or has blocked the buyer.
Police say this type of fraud is occurring amongst all age groups.
Some tips to avoid becoming a victim of this type of fraud include:
-Ask to see the property ahead of time and before any money is transferred. Ensure you have the items in hand before sending any money.
-The price is usually too good to be true.
-Before sending any money, research their profile.
-Some sites let you see how long they have been a member for. Ensure they did not just become a member.
“The sad reality is that in many cases once the money is paid out it is extremely hard to get back if at all. In some cases, scammers are very sophisticated criminals and often there is no recourse to recover lost funds. The best thing people can do is to protect themselves from becoming victims in the first place,” says police.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of an e-transfer of purchase scam, contact local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
