Peterborough OPP have received a report of a fraud from a resident of the Municipality of Trent Lakes.
An individual reported that they had become the victim of a fraud on January 30.
The victim stated that they had been contacted by someone claiming to be with their cell phone provider who advised them that their account had been hacked. The caller advised that they would be sent an email with a security code. The victim received the email which appeared to be genuine but being suspicious of the call, hung up and then called back the number that was provided. The victim was connected to the same person that they had previously been speaking with. The victim provided the code and shortly after, their phone and their email were hacked and disabled. The victim rushed home only to discover that their bank account had been accessed and approximately $55,000 had been transferred out of their account. The victim immediately contacted their bank who were able to reverse roughly $36,000 of the money and is working diligently to help recover the remaining amount.
Police ask that, if you receive a similar call to this, do not rely on the information being provided by the caller. Hang up and contact your service provider or bank using a number that you have confirmed and not one provided by the caller verbally or in an email. If you receive an email from what appears to be your bank or a service provider, be cautious if being asked to provide personal information or security codes. These are common scam tactics so be wary of calls that sound like this. Never provide any banking information or personal information based on a call. Fraudsters rely on your trust to supply the information they need to take advantage of you.
OPP urge residents to remain vigilant and report any frauds suspicious offers or contractor activity. If you believe you have been targeted by a scam, contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
For more information on how to recognize and protect yourself from scams, visit www.ontario.ca/page/identify-scam-or-fraud.
