(BLUEWATER, ON) – A resident from Bluewater, ON was recently scammed out of nearly $5400. Huron OPP officers were notified of the scam on February 12, 2012. The female victim received a telephone call from a purported doctor in Australia advising her that she had won $5.5 million dollars in a lottery. In order to claim her “prize†she had to pay an administration fee of $2,500. As instructed by the scammer, the victim wired the money via Western Union. The next day the scammer contacted the victim and requested another $2,850 to cover the difference in currency exchange. The victim once again sent the scammer the money.
The victim never received a penny from the lottery. There has been an ever-growing number of lottery scams advising people they have hit the jackpot. The Huron OPP Detachment is asking residents to beware of unsolicited phone calls, letters, faxes or emails. Some things to keep in mind: You cannot win a lottery without first buying a lottery ticket, lottery winners will not be notified by email, legitimate lottery winners are never asked to pay an upfront fee (administration, taxes or a security deposit) to claim a prize, and lottery winners are not told to keep their winnings a secret.
Don’t be fooled, if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Hang up the phone and delete the emails. If you don’t respond, you don’t get scammed.
Anyone interested in learning more information on Fraud can contact the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre at 1 888 495 8501 or online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/.
