(KINCARDINE, ON) – The South Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is investigating a fraud after receiving a complaint from a Municipality of Kincardine resident on August 27, 2014 at 9:42 am. A “Bank of Montreal (BMO) employee†called to report an internal banking error that meant the customer owed the bank $4,600. An arrangement was made for the money to be hand delivered at Victoria Park in Kincardine. Unfortunately, the money was gone before the scam was recognized.
Always be cautious when you receive unsolicited calls involving your money or personal information. Unsolicited means that you didn’t ask for it. The BMO is a legitimate banking institution, but scammers will often identify themselves as an employee of a legitimate company in order to gain your trust.
There is no magic to preventing fraud. If it seems too good to be true, it most likely is. If it seems weird, check it out; scams will be revealed if you start asking questions. There is no limit to the schemes that a tech savvy con artist can dream up; you work hard for your money, so work hard to protect it.
Anyone interested in more information on fraud can call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1 888 495 8501 or check online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca.
The South Bruce OPP is requesting anyone with information that can assist police to call 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or send a web-tip to crimestop-gb.org, where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.