(GODERICH, ON) – A Goderich resident is out $1,000 after falling victim to a version of the “Phoney Bank Investigator” scam. On November 18, 2015 the victim received a call at home around 7:20 a.m. from a purported investigator from one of the big banks. The scammer advised the victim he was working in the anti-fraud section and was investigating a possible case of identity theft.
The fake bank employee stated his department was monitoring some transactions on the victim’s account and noticed some suspicious transactions involving some out-of- province purchases and a transaction that was made in China for $1,100. The scammer convinced the victim to check his online accounts to verify the transactions. The victim followed suit and checked out his account. Upon looking at his account he noticed what he thought was a deposit into his savings account.
The victim was then given a fake incident report number and was instructed to immediately wire the “inadvertent” excess deposit of $985 back to the phoney investigator. The investigator also advised the victim to contact his local bank branch to report the matter and have his account cancelled.
In this case, the scammers gained the victim’s trust and then tricked him into thinking the deposit into his account was legitimate. In fact, what the scammer did was transfer money from the victim’s line of credit into his savings account. At the time unfortunately this was undetected by the victim.
Here are some tips to help protect you from falling victim to this type of scam.
Remember that neither the bank nor a police investigator will request you to assist in an undercover investigation or ask you to withdraw money from your account. If you receive a suspicious call like this, hang up and call police.
Never give out personal bank information over the phone unless you are the one that called the bank and they ask questions to verify your identity.
Never transfer funds electronically to people you don’t personally know or don’t trust.
Check your bank statements frequently and report any irregularities to your bank as soon as you notice them.
FRAUD – RECOGNIZE IT….REPORT IT….STOP IT….
For more information on fraud, call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or http://www.antifraudcentre.ca
