(PORT HOPE, ON) – On Thursday January 30, 2014 Northumberland Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were made aware of a fraud attempt on a couple in the Municipality of Port Hope at around 1:00 pm.
A Port Hope couple had received a telephone call from a male claiming to be their nephew. He told them that he was in trouble and needed $2,100 for legal fees. The couple believed the caller’s distress and went to a local Money Mart to transfer funds as requested. The “aunt†called her actual nephew and discovered that he was not in trouble and did not require any money. The couple immediately contacted the Money Mart location and were very fortunate to have the transaction stopped. They are being refunded their money today. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Center was notified with information about the caller and the location where the money was to be sent for their information.
People should be aware that once money has been sent through these types of transactions it is very unlikely that it will be recovered, but in this instance, the couple was aware enough to make that call to their nephew for confirmation. Timing was everything to prevent the fraud from being completed and the couple did not lose their hard earned money.
Northumberland OPP would like to remind residents that this is commonly called the “Emergency Scam†where fraudsters will claim to be a family member saying they are in trouble and need money to get out of it. The fraudsters will play on the victim’s emotions and portray sense of urgency behind the call. Residents are warned to keep calm, ask questions of the caller that would only be known to that family member and if in doubt, hang up and call the family member directly to confirm the situation.
For more information on how to protect yourself and loved ones from fraud please go online to www.opp.ca or www.antifraudcentre.ca
