(MUNICIPALITY OF NORTH PERTH, ON) – The Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has received numerous calls from local residents who have fallen victim to scams where they were talked into using iTunes cards to pay for funds owing. Scammers pretending to be calling from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) have been telling victims to pick up iTunes cards and provide them with the code of the card to pay off their supposed outstanding taxes.
Fraudsters are using many different scams, with the goal of trying to convince you of their legitimacy and then obtaining your cash in a quick, untraceable and irreversible way. Their preferred method has been to use Money Transfer services which wire money and are usually impossible to reverse. The public is catching on to this and scammers have to find other means to obtain quick, irreversible cash. This is where iTunes or other similar cards as well as reloadable cards are now being used.
On Saturday August 27, 2016, a Listowel resident contacted the Perth County OPP to report a fraud. The resident had applied for a loan on-line and shortly thereafter received a call from representative purported to be from a legitimate cash-advance company. The resident was told that a $10,000 loan was approved however to prove that there was money in the resident’s account. Instructions were provided to attend a local food store, purchase two iTunes cards, have $250 on each card and call them back to provide the verification codes on the back of the cards. After providing the codes the resident realized this was a fraud however the transfer of funds could not be reversed.
These scammers are not music lovers they simply sell these verification codes on the gift card black market where they are sold for a fraction of their value. This is an easy way to drain money from victims that is quick and untraceable.
Besides the quote “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”. You may also think about the following tips:
Do not pay upfront for a promise, like a mortgage, loan, credit offer or a job. Don’t believe you won a prize if you have to pay taxes and fees upfront.
Discuss the offer or transaction with a trusted person before providing personal information or money. Don’t be rushed into things.
Honest companies and the government will never ask you to pay using iTunes or reloadable cards.
Fraud is a billion dollar enterprise that will only stop when the scammers stop making money. Anyone interested in more information on fraud can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call centre at 1-888-495-8501 or check online at http//:www.antifraudcentre.ca.
