Man attempts to open bank account with fake passport

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Police are warning local financial institutions to examine identification carefully after an individual in Wingham attempted to open a bank account with a fake passport.

According to Huron OPP, just after 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, bank staff contacted police about a man that had attempted to open a bank account with a foreign passport, alongside immigration documents.

The man said that he lived and worked in the community, and provided an address that staff discovered did not exist. The bank also verified that he was not employed with the local business that he claimed he was. Upon confronting the man, he fled, leaving some documents behind.

Police confirmed with the Canadian Border Services Agency that the documents were in fact forgeries. They believe that the intention was for the fraudster to gradually defraud the banks over time once the false account was opened.