Concerned citizen helps foil bank fraud scam: Huron County OPP
A concerned citizen is being credited by police for foiling an elaborate bank fraud scam involving prepaid Visa credit cards that targeted an elderly Huron County resident earlier this month.
According to a release from Huron County OPP, on March 13 an employee of a local business who expressed concern for an elderly area resident contacted police.
Police attended the elderly person’s residence and explained the concerns that someone may be defrauding them. The resident then told police they were just on the phone with a woman who had been arranging for them to take a taxi to two grocery stores to buy two prepaid Visa gift cards of $1,000 each.
The victim then explained that they had been receiving multiple calls over the previous week from a woman claiming to work for a well-known bank head office in Toronto.
The scammer claimed they had been having issues with bank employees giving out clients’ personal information, and told the victim that the bank would transfer $3,000 into their bank account and requested they purchase prepaid Visa cards in order to help track and catch the suspects.
The scammer then requested the victim’s full name, date of birth and bank account information, which OPP said the victim provided.
Afterwards police said the scammer convinced the victim to take a cab to Goderich and purchase two prepaid Visa gift cards of $1,000 each, to which the victim complied. The scammer then requested they provide the credit card numbers and codes off the back, which the victim provided.
While officers were with the victim at their residence, the scammer then called the victim again. Police listened to the scammer on speakerphone, where the scammer instructed the victim to go to a grocery store in Grand Bend and then another grocery store in Goderich.
The victim was instructed to refrain from telling the cab driver what she was doing, other than purchasing groceries, and was told not to disclose anything of their conversation to other people.
If the grocery store cashier asked the victim if she was being scammed, police said the scammer instructed the victim to reply, “No, the cards are for their grandchildren.”
Police then escorted the victim to her bank. It was discovered the scammer had created an online bank account for the victim and transferred $3,000 from the victim’s line of credit to the victim’s chequing account, making it appear as if they deposited the $3,000 of the banks’ money for the victim for the victim to use in their account.
“As a result of the incident, the victim did lose $2,000, however, thanks to the person who contacted the police, the victim would have lost at least another $3,000, if not more had police not intervened,” OPP said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
What a U.S. farmworker’s case of bird flu tells us about tracking the infection
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.