The Oxford County OPP says phone and email scams are on the rise.
Starting back in late December, a victim in Tillsonburg was contacted via email about an internet loan.
The victim contacted the website and was told to wire money so the funds could be processed.
They sent over $800 and afterwards contacted police when it was discovered to be a scam.
In early February, a victim in East Zorra Tavistock was contacted by a man stating he could provide a service over the phone and fix a Microsoft computer problem.
The suspect gained access to the victim’s computer remotely and made changes to allow personal banking information to be stolen and used.
The victim later contacted police when he was defrauded of over $550 from his credit card.
In late January and into early February, two separate victims from Ingersoll and Tillsonburg were contacted by men claiming to be their son.
The suspect claimed he had been in a vehicle collision and had broken his nose and that’s why he sounded different.
The male stated he had been arrested in Quebec and need money for bail.
The victims then spoke to another male who stated he was a lawyer and details were given on how to send money
In both cases over $1,500 was wired to the suspects through Western Union.
Police were contacted by concerned family members and an investigation started into the fraud.
On February 5th, a Tillsonburg resident received a phone call from a suspect stating they had won the lottery worth $3,000,000.
The caller thought this was suspicious and hung up on the caller then contacted police.
For more information on fraud, call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or http://www.antifraudcentre.ca.
Any person with information regarding the person(s) responsible for this incident should immediately contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or their nearest police authority.
Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477Â (TIPS), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.
