(ST.MARYS, ON) During the past three weeks, the Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has been made aware of attempted lottery fraud involving single elderly residents of St.Marys.
Investigation into these reported incidents revealed that the victims had been convinced into withdrawing substantial amounts of money from their local bank accounts and depositing this into accounts by means of money transfer services, or via money orders.
The fraudster has been calling from Jamaica and is using the “Jamaican Lottery Scamâ€Â. The new twist utilized by the fraudster is to contact a local taxi companies, and ordering a cab to the victim’s front door. The fraudster called from Jamaica and arranged for the victim to be transported to their local bank.
Local taxi drivers report having been dispatched to elderly residents by an individual calling from Jamaica.
Elderly citizens are urged to be very wary of anyone attempting to have money sent to them in return for a prize. Never send money to anyone you don’t know and trust.
Family members, individuals having power of attorney over loved ones, neighbours, health care workers, as well as legal and financial service providers, are urged to be on the watch for scammers that are trying to defraud our seniors and our most vulnerable citizens.
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.