Lambton OPP officials say on July 26, 2018 the Lambton Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a complaint of a fraud where elderly community members were targeted.
The OPP would like to warn the public of the following fraud/scam:
– Firstly, the fraudster calls the victim by telephone alleging that he is representing the “Canadian Bureau Bank of Commerce”. The fraudster proceeds to tell the victim that his credit card has been compromised.
– The fraudster then proceeds to tell the victim that the “Canadian Bureau Bank of Commerce” has located and arrested the person who has defrauded the victim’s credit card.
– If the victim “buys into” the fraudster’s claim; the fraudster then lures the victim into being part of a “big sting operation” which requires the victim to purchase several thousand dollars’ worth of iTunes and Steam video game cards.
– Once the victim purchases the iTunes and Steam cards, the victim then discloses the card’s activation numbers to the fraudster.
– Once the fraudster has the activation numbers, they have access to all the financial awards associated to that card.
– The fraudster causes the victim to believe that this is required to assist with the “big sting operation”; ensuring the victim that he will have his investment returned once the “big sting operation” is complete.
This investigation is ongoing, police say.
“In this case, the victim was defrauded of almost $17,000, Lambton OPP officials stated in a media release.
“These fraudsters are known to target the senior members of our community. Let’s never forget about our seniors. Check in on them once in a while. Let’s educate our seniors in order to protect them from these ruthless, heartless and shameless predators.”
