An Owen Sound woman has been duped out of almost $10,000 after a scam involving a man posing as a bank official.
The Owen Sound Police Service says the 66-year-old resident was contacted by telephone and convinced to provide access to online banking information. The fraudster told the woman she had been the victim of a scam and then asked for help to catch the culprit.
Once the caller gained to the victim’s accounts, several money transfers were made. The scam was eventually identified by a family member. Police and legitimate banking officials were then immediately notified.
The Canadian Anti Fraud Centre has since been contacted to investigate the incident.
The Owen Sound Police Service is reminding residents that legitimate banking institutions will never instruct customers to use cash as a lure to catch criminals. As well, they will never instruct clients to send them money via a money transfer service.