Ontario Provincial Police are once again warning the public after a Windsor-Essex resident lost $30,000 in a scam.
According to investigators, the victim got a phone call from someone claiming to be in security at TD Bank, saying there were fraudulent transactions on their account involving Google Play cards. The plan called for the suspect to transfer funds into the victim's account and for the victim to use that money to purchase gift cards from a list of businesses in Windsor-Essex.
The victim was told to withdraw the money from his account and make the purchases, and if questioned, say the gift cards were for family members.
Constable Steven Duguay said at one of the stores, the employee questioned what the victim was doing and refused to sell the cards but did not contact the police.
When it was all over, the victim was taken for $30,000 spent on Google Play cards.
The OPP say anyone with access to a telephone or the internet can be a victim since these scams often target senior citizens. It suggests watching out for any of these red flags.
- Urgency, as the scammer always tries to make the request sound very urgent, causing the victim to not verify it.
- Fear, as the scammer plays on the victim's emotions. This causes the victim to feel that something bad may happen if they don't help.
- Secrecy, as the scammer pleads with the victim not to tell anyone what's going on.
- A request for money transfer or gift cards, rather than cash.
Complete information on scams, and how to avoid becoming a victim, can be found at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's official website.
