Police are once again warning residents about the infamous “emergency scam,” after local man was recently duped.
On Jan. 24, Wellington County OPP received a fraud complaint from a man in Fergus.
“He received a call from an unknown male posing as legal counsel for his son. He claimed that there was a motor vehicle collision in Calgary and payment was needed to rectify the situation,” police stated in a press release.
The fraudster said payment needed to be paid through gift cards for Steam, an online computer gaming platform. Police say the gift cards were purchased and registration numbers provided over the phone for a total of $9,200.
Police, who say they are continuing to investigate this fraud, are reminding locals to protect themselves.
“Remember, scammers are counting on the fact that you will want to act quickly to help your loved ones in an emergency,” police stated in a press release.
The OPP has offered the following tips to avoid the emergency scam:
– never send money to anyone you don’t know and trust;
– verify the person’s identity before taking any steps to help (scammers usually want to keep things confidential; this should raise suspicion);
– don’t give out any personal information to the caller;
– investigate by asking questions only your loved one would be able to answer;
– call parents or friends to verify the story.;
– ask ‘does the caller’s story make sense?’; and
– educate relatives, friends and neighbours about this scam.
If scammed, report the matter immediately to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at www.antifraudcentre.ca. Also report the matter to the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
“Although it may be difficult to recover the money you have lost to a scam by reporting the scam to authorities, you are warning other people about the scam and minimizing the chances of the scam spreading further,” police say.
