Someone Fell For The Old Emergency Scam

(TRENT HILLS, ON) – On Monday August 12, 2013 Northumberland Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a call from a female Percy Township resident reporting a fraud known as “Emergency Scam”.

The female reported that on Friday August 9, 2013 between 10:00 and 10:30 am, she received a telephone call from a male claiming to be her son. The male sounded over the phone to be crying and hysterical claiming he had been involved in a collision and had a broken nose. He had told her that he was arrested and needed bail money.

A second male came on the phone and identified himself as a supposed “lawyer representing her son” and they were in Laval, Quebec. The victim was told he required $1,900 for bail and then called back a second time stating he required another $1,700 for “property damage” caused by her son. The victim withdrew a cash advance on her VISA and sent the money via Western Union to an unknown address in Laval, Quebec. The victim was also told not to tell the Western Union teller it was required for bail as she would be given an extra $500 surcharge to send the funds. The total loss to the victim was $3,789.

Northumberland OPP are continuing this investigation with the assistance of Western Union Official Complaint Department and Laval Police Service.

The “Emergency Scam” Fraud plays to people’s sympathies and emotions. The fraudster will use a story involving a family member in distress and attempt to solicit funds to ease the distress from the victim based on these factors . If you receive a call of this nature, take your time, calm yourself and ask questions of the caller. If the questions cannot be answered accurately, it is most likely a fraud attempt. Once a person has sent money, there is often little or no recourse to get the money back. Fraudsters will not use real names or telephone numbers. Without accurate details about the situation it makes a follow-up investigation almost impossible.

For more information on how to protect yourself from fraud and the types of scams being committed go online to www.antifraudcentre.ca or the Crime Prevention Section at www.opp.ca

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