Peterborough County OPP are investigating a pair of significant fraud incidents in the Havelock and Norwood areas.
Both happened on July 31, with the first victim losing $28,000 after suspects posing as Service Canada representatives and Campbellford OPP told them they would be arrested if they didn’t pay an the outstanding amount immediately, through a bitcoin account, which they did.
The second victim lost $50,000 after suspects contacted them to say their credit card information had been stolen and numerous transactions had been made.
The suspect told the victim that their remaining credit couldn’t be accessed until those transactions were paid for, so the victim made several payments using Google Play cards, as requested by the suspect.
Police are putting out reminders to never provide personal or banking info over the phone unless you initiate the call, and to hang up immediately if there is anything suspicious about a money-related call.
It’s also important to remember that the Canada Revenue Agency will never threaten immediate arrest for non-payment of outstanding balances, or ask for payment via gift cards or prepaid cards.
