NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
**************************
PERTH COUNTY — Local residents continue to be victimized by a variety of frauds and scams, and the Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) would like the public to be aware.
Earlier in September, a resident of the Township of Perth East was contacted by a person on the telephone, and the caller claimed that the victim's grandson had been in a collision. In the end, the victim sent approximately $7,000 to Quebec.
Additionally, a second fraud investigation was initiated after a resident of the Municipality of North Perth reported that they had been defrauded out of approximately $40,000 since December 2023. The victim had met a person pretending to be a celebrity on a social media website, and over time, the victim sent a quantity of Apple Gift Cards.
The Perth County OPP encourages the public to stay alert and educated to reduce the risk of being a victim of fraud. If you receive an unsolicited phone call or message, asking for personal information (name, birthday, address, phone number, bank information, SIN number) or payment via gift cards for a product, do not provide the information and hang-up the phone and block the phone number. Legitimate organizations do not receive payments by gift cards of any type.
Warning signs to look out for when receiving unsolicited messages include: Emails, text-messages or phone calls sent at odd times of the night, creating a false sense of urgency, spelling errors, lack of punctuation or capitals in sentences, automated messages, random links or attachments, and generic business or company names.
Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend an information session about frauds and scams at Parkview Gardens, 565 Elizabeth St. E, Listowel, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 at 2 p.m.
Should you wish to remain anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or leave an anonymous online message at www.P3tips.com where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.
**************************
