Man Scammed Out Of $13,00

(ELGIN COUNTY, ON) – May 17th, 2015 a 66 year old Union, ON Elgin man was scammed out of $1300 after receiving a call from who he believed to be his son. The caller stated that he was in jail in Quebec and required $1300.00 in for bail in order to be released. The victim believed his son needed assistance and immediately sent the money via a wire transfer service. The victim then contacted family members and learned that his son was not in jail and that he had been the victim of a scam.

Police continue to investigate this fraud.

This scammer followed the usual script. In some cases, you may get a call from two people, one pretending to be your grandchild and the other pretending to be either a police officer or a lawyer. Other times, scammers pretend to be your old neighbour or a friend of the family, but for the most part, the emergency scam is directed at grandparents.

Protect yourself; remember scammers are counting on the fact that you will want to act quickly to help your loved ones in an emergency.

Never send money to anyone you don’t know and trust. Verify the person’s identity before you take any steps to help. Scammers usually want you to keep things confidential; this should raise your suspicions.

Don’t give out any personal information to the caller.

Investigate by asking the person questions that only your loved one would be able to answer. Call the child’s parents or friends to verify the story. Ask yourself, does the caller’s story make sense?

Educate your relatives, friends, and neighbours about this scam.

What should I do if I have been scammed? You should report the matter immediately to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at www.antifraudcentre.ca

As well, you should report the matter to the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Although it may be difficult to recover the money you have lost to a scam by reporting the scam to authorities, you are warning other people about the scam and minimizing the chances of the scam spreading further.

Over 150,000 Monthly Readers! 1 Million+ Across the entire FreePress Network.