An Oxford County resident has lost hundreds of dollars in a scam involving the popular app Snapchat.
After recently adding an unknown person as a contact on the multimedia messaging app, the Tillsonburg resident was sent a photo of a cheque and asked to cash it, Oxford OPP said. The resident was then given an email address and asked to e-transfer a portion of the funds back to the cheque sender.
The resident complied only to discover after the fact that the cheque was counterfeit.
Police did not specify exactly how much money was sent to the scammer.
They said this latest incarnation of the cheque transfer scam was successful because of its fresh spin.
"Victims sometimes educate themselves on a particular type of money transfer or cheque fraud scam only to find out a new version of scam has been created," police said in a statement Wednesday. "Typically, individuals use a phone or computer to communicate with you before they offer a financial transaction. Often this serves a dual purpose of providing criminals with access to your banking information and then for you to legitimately send them money."
Police are once again encouraging the public to educate themselves on ways to protect against scams by visiting the Competition Bureau Canada.
All fraudulent calls, texts, or emails should be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by phone at 1-888-495-8501 or online at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
