NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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NORTH PERTH - The Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has received a number of reports of frauds over the holiday season.
Unfortunately, two similar incidents just before Christmas in the Municipality of North Perth have resulted in a loss of $5,000 to one victim, and $5,500 for another.
Both victims received phone calls from someone claiming to be a family member who was in jail after a collision and needed bail money. A "lawyer" told the victims that a "bondsman" would come to the house, and in both cases, the person of interest attended the victims' homes to collect cash in person, after the victims had attended a bank.
In both instances, the person of interest is described as:
- Black male
- Between 20-50 years of age
- 5'5" - 5'10"
- Wearing all black clothing including a black toque
The Perth County OPP encourages the public to stay alert and educated to reduce the risk of being a victim of fraud. Be cautious if you receive any sort of emergency phone call. In this type of emergency call, the "grandchild" or "child" on the phone might state they have broken their nose in the collision, and that is why their voice sounds different. Please share this information with your loved ones to help protect them from becoming a victim.
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 or cryptocurrency, 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.
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.
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