Fraud Prevention Month – Emergency/Grandparent Scam

Members from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) would like to remind everyone that you have to do your homework prior to giving any personal information, money or sending prepaid ITunes cards to anyone. Every year thousands of Canadians are victimized and millions of dollars are lost through many forms of fraud.

Emergency/Grandparent Scam

In a typical “emergency” scam, the victim receives a phone call or e-mail from someone claiming to be a friend or relative, like a grandchild in distress. The caller or e-mailer goes on to indicate that they are in some kind of trouble, such as being in a car crash, they need money for bail, or they are having trouble returning from a foreign country. The fraudster specifically asks that the victims not to tell other relatives. The victim may get a call from two people, one pretending to be their grandchild and the other pretending to be either a police officer or a lawyer. The “grandchild” asks questions during the call, getting victims to volunteer personal information. Victims (often seniors) generally don’t verify the story until after their money has been sent or they have provided access to personal banking or credit card information to the criminals.

To guard against becoming a victim, police advise you to first check with another family member or trusted friend to verify the information BEFORE sending money or providing credit card information by phone or e-mail. It is important that the incident be reported every time it occurs, to allow police to investigate.

If you suspect you may be the victim of fraud or have been tricked into giving personal or financial information, contact your local OPP detachment at 1-888-310-1122, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or visit their website at: www.antifraudcentre.ca

FRAUD…Recognize it …Report it …Stop it.

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OPP

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) provide policing services throughout Ontario. Our officers are responsible for policing over one million square kilometres of land and waterways. They provide frontline policing services to more than 320 Ontario municipalities and patrol over 126,000 kilometres of provincial roadways.