(NORFOLK COUNTY, ON) The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Norfolk County Detachment has received a complaint from a Norfolk County resident about the grandparent emergency scam.
On Thursday, September 5, 2013 the Norfolk County OPP was contacted by a concerned senior regarding a phone call that was received at their residence. The unknown caller indicated that the homeowner’s grandson was in jail and requested $2000 dollars be sent through a money transfer service. The funds were subsequently sent only to realize that their grandson was in fact at home.
The Norfolk County OPP wants all our community residents to be alert for unsolicited calls, emails, faxes or visitors that arrive at your residence.
Modern, tech savvy, scammers have personal information about before they ever try to contact you. It is imperative to verify any unsolicited contact before you respond and provide information. Keep your guard up when you receive a surprise call from a grandchild that indicates that they are in jail or have been involved in a serious incident and they require funds.
You work hard for your money, so work hard to protect it. Do not hand it over to a smooth talking con artist. Fraud is a multi-billion dollar per year business that will only stop when the con artists stop making money.
Anyone with information regarding this incident should immediately contact the Ontario Provincial Police at 1 – 888 – 310 – 1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1 – 800 – 222 – 8477 (TIPS) or leave an anonymous online message at www.helpsolvecrime.com where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2000.
FRAUD – RECOGNIZE IT….REPORT IT….STOP IT….
For more information on fraud, call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or http://www.antifraudcentre.ca