(NORFOLK COUNTY, ON) – The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Norfolk County Detachment has received a complaint from a Norfolk County resident about the parent emergency scam.
On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 the Norfolk County OPP was contacted by a concerned resident regarding a phone call that was received at their residence on October 23, 2013 at approximately 12:00 a.m. The unknown caller indicated that they were lawyer and informed the homeowner that their son had been injured in a motor vehicle collision and requested that $1,900 dollars be sent through a money transfer service to Quebec. The funds were not sent as requested and police are reminding all residents to be vigilant if they receive this type of call.
The Norfolk County OPP wants all our community residents to be alert for unsolicited calls, emails, faxes or visitors that arrive at your residence.
Modern, tech savvy, scammers have personal information about before they ever try to contact you. It is imperative to verify any unsolicited contact before you respond and provide information. Keep your guard up when you receive a surprise call from anyone soliciting funds and indicating that a loved one is in jail or have been involved in a serious incident.
You work hard for your money, so work hard to protect it. Do not hand it over to a smooth talking con artist. Fraud is a multi-billion dollar per year business that will only stop when the con artists stop making money.
Anyone with information regarding this incident should immediately contact the Ontario Provincial Police at 1 – 888 – 310 – 1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1 – 800 – 222 – 8477 (TIPS) or leave an anonymous online message at www.helpsolvecrime.com where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2000.