HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-03-05, Page 66 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Facebook "friend" scams Huron man
A Central Huron resident is out
$6,400 after falling for an online
scam. The 25 -year-old victim
reported he received a friend request
from a stranger on Facebook last fall.
The victim accepted the friend
request from "Dorris," purportedly a
resident of Ghana. After some initial
Facebook communication he was
directed to start communicating with
her via a mobile messenger
application.
After a couple months of texting
and emailing, Dorris asked him to
send her some money. The funds
were supposed to pay for groceries,
medical bills, phone bills, a
grandmother's surgery and
for a plane ticket. In total,
the victim sent eight money
transfers which came to a
total of $6,400 to Dorris.
The victim in this matter
never spoke over the phone
or in person with the
scammer. All of the com-
munication was through
texting and emails.
The victim's father
reported the matter to
police late last week after
his suspicions were aroused
when his son had asked
him for a loan.
The victim continued to
receive assurances from
the scammer that she was
legitimate and was in the
process of purchasing a
plane ticket to come and
visit him.
Here are some tips to
avoid being a victim of an
online dating scam.
Keep in mind that the
person you are communi-
cating with online might
not be who they say they
are. It's very easy to create a fake
online profile. Don't get fooled.
Never send money or give credit
card or online account details to any-
one you do not know and trust. A
request to send money to a foreign
country or to a person you have never
personally met should be a red flag.
Check website addresses carefully.
Scammers often set up fake websites
with very similar addresses to legiti-
mate dating websites. Make sure you
only use legitimate and reputable
dating websites.
Be careful giving out personal
information in an email or when you
are chatting online. Use the computer
to your advantage. Educate yourself,
ask questions, and be skeptical. Ask
yourself, does this sound legitimate?
Does this make sense? Don't let your
emotions cloud your good judgment.
If you suspect that you may be a
target of a fraud, or if you have
already sent funds, don't be embar-
rassed, you are not alone.
You can contact the Canadian Anti -
Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcen-
tre.ca or by calling 1-888-495-8501.
Alternatively you can contact the
Huron OPP Detachment at 1-888-
310-1122 or (519) 524-1074.
Grandmother falls for scam, gives $7,500
An 81 -year-old grandmother from
Exeter is out $7,500 after falling victim to
a common scam known as the "Grand-
parent/Emergency Scam': On February
20, 2014 Huron County Ontario Provin-
cial Police received information from a
Canada Post employee that became sus-
picious of two international wire trans-
fers that were made on consecutive days
last week for the same amount of
$3,800.
The scam followed a very similar
script. The victim received a phone call
at home from the scammers purporting
to be her grandson. The scammer stated
he had been involved in a car accident in
the Dominican Republic and needed
$3800 to avoid going to jail. He also
claimed that he had an injury to his
mouth from the collision in effort to
explain why his voice
sounded muffled over the
phone.
The "grandson" instructed
the victim to wire the funds
and to not tell anyone about
it. If anyone asked her any
questions she was to inform
them it was a personal mat-
ter. The victim followed the
instructions and sent $3800
to the scammer through a
popular wire transfer service.
The following day she was
contacted again and the
scammer told her the money
didn't make it through. She
was instructed to go to a dif-
ferent town to complete the
wire transfer. The victim
returned to Canada Post and
proceeded to wire another
$3800 to the scammer located
in the Dominican Republic.
After the money was long
gone her grandson was con-
tacted and he advised he
hadn't left Ontario.
Sometimes you may get a
call from two people, one
pretending to be your grandchild and
the other pretending to be either a police
officer or a lawyer.
Protect yourself. Remember,
scammers are counting on the fact that
you will want to act quickly to help your
loved ones in an emergency.
Never send money to anyone you
don't know and trust. Verify the person's
identity before you take any steps to
help. Scammers want you to keep things
confidential; this should raise your
suspicions.
Don't give out any personal informa-
tion to the caller.
Investigate by asking the person ques-
tions that only your loved one would be
able to answer. Verify the story. Ask your-
self, does the caller's story make sense?
Educate your relatives, friends, and
neighbours about this scam. Prevention
is the key.
What should I do if I have been
scammed? You should report the matter
immediately to the Canadian Anti -Fraud
Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at
www.antifraudcentre.ca
Alternatively you can contact the
Huron OPP Detachment at 1-888-310-
1122 or (519) 524-1074.
Scammer nets
The South Bruce Ontario
Provincial Police (OPP) is
sending another reminder
for the residents of Southern
Bruce County to watch out
for scams after a resident in
the Municipality of Kincar-
dine reported losing $832 to
the Microsoft scam. The
Microsoft scam is a phone
call to tell you there is some-
thing wrong with your com-
puter that can be fixed
remotely - for a fee. If you
suspect a problem, take your
computer to a reputable
repair service - don't trust
the stranger on the phone.
Fri & Sat 13:46 & 9:15
Sun Thur
Sal, SUM, Tue & Thut
Mat. 1:11.0.
sof
ine's R,Frf'.!
viww.movielinks.ce !Mg dmkomorl-801:11-265-3438
832
Tech savvy con artists can create very
convincing scams with the use of comput-
ers and laser printers. Fraudsters will com-
monly use the name of a legitimate com-
pany to gain your trust, such as Microsoft.
Fraud continues to be a multi -billion
dollar per year enterprise that will only
end when the scammers stop making
money. There is no magic to preventing
fraud - if it seems too good to be true it
likely is. Always take time to verify the
legitimacy of an unsolicited claim.
Whether received by phone, fax, email
or at the front door, unsolicited means
that you didn't ask for it.
Anyone interested in more information
on fraud can call the CanadianAnti-Fraud
Centre at 1 888 495 8501 or check online at
http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/.
The South Bruce OPP is requesting
anyone with information that can assist
police to call 1-888-310-1122. Should
you wish to remain anonymous, you
can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-
8477 (TIPS) or send a web -tip to
crimestop-gb.org, where you may be
eligible to receive a cash reward of up to
$2,000.
Free showing of Free Birds
1
14164. ;141 Oki, v.*
*el eitiggeduitikeN.64 lot
ftel OOP toil 111•4 foe
•
' ffeara
Make 'Your OHM
Pt COderS eld 1 uil. ,
infer iati let a Astetk
81
.40
kimptan st,coputioi 524-23zi
Free showing on mar. 5 at the
Lucknow Branch Library of the
family movie Free Birds. Two tur-
keys from opposite sides of the
tracks must put aside their differ-
ences and team up to travel back in
time to change the course of history
- and get turkey off the holiday
menu for good. Movie starts at 6:30
p.m. and it is free to all.
t -n
The Lucknow Sentinel
•
Birthday Club
Shelby Barger
March 5, 2005 - 9 years old
•
Justin Rintoul
March 6, 2006 - 8 years old
Tyler Aitchison
March 6, 2008 - 6 years old
Jesse Broome
March 9, 2006 - 8 years old
Kaleb Meyer
*
March 11, 2005 - 9 years old
4
Your child can be a member
of the Sentinel's birthday club
(----,
call 519-528-2822 to register
iv
lifelimralenlinel
619 Campbell Street
519-528-2822
or-,
iememememisiememe,_
explain why his voice
sounded muffled over the
phone.
The "grandson" instructed
the victim to wire the funds
and to not tell anyone about
it. If anyone asked her any
questions she was to inform
them it was a personal mat-
ter. The victim followed the
instructions and sent $3800
to the scammer through a
popular wire transfer service.
The following day she was
contacted again and the
scammer told her the money
didn't make it through. She
was instructed to go to a dif-
ferent town to complete the
wire transfer. The victim
returned to Canada Post and
proceeded to wire another
$3800 to the scammer located
in the Dominican Republic.
After the money was long
gone her grandson was con-
tacted and he advised he
hadn't left Ontario.
Sometimes you may get a
call from two people, one
pretending to be your grandchild and
the other pretending to be either a police
officer or a lawyer.
Protect yourself. Remember,
scammers are counting on the fact that
you will want to act quickly to help your
loved ones in an emergency.
Never send money to anyone you
don't know and trust. Verify the person's
identity before you take any steps to
help. Scammers want you to keep things
confidential; this should raise your
suspicions.
Don't give out any personal informa-
tion to the caller.
Investigate by asking the person ques-
tions that only your loved one would be
able to answer. Verify the story. Ask your-
self, does the caller's story make sense?
Educate your relatives, friends, and
neighbours about this scam. Prevention
is the key.
What should I do if I have been
scammed? You should report the matter
immediately to the Canadian Anti -Fraud
Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at
www.antifraudcentre.ca
Alternatively you can contact the
Huron OPP Detachment at 1-888-310-
1122 or (519) 524-1074.
Scammer nets
The South Bruce Ontario
Provincial Police (OPP) is
sending another reminder
for the residents of Southern
Bruce County to watch out
for scams after a resident in
the Municipality of Kincar-
dine reported losing $832 to
the Microsoft scam. The
Microsoft scam is a phone
call to tell you there is some-
thing wrong with your com-
puter that can be fixed
remotely - for a fee. If you
suspect a problem, take your
computer to a reputable
repair service - don't trust
the stranger on the phone.
Fri & Sat 13:46 & 9:15
Sun Thur
Sal, SUM, Tue & Thut
Mat. 1:11.0.
sof
ine's R,Frf'.!
viww.movielinks.ce !Mg dmkomorl-801:11-265-3438
832
Tech savvy con artists can create very
convincing scams with the use of comput-
ers and laser printers. Fraudsters will com-
monly use the name of a legitimate com-
pany to gain your trust, such as Microsoft.
Fraud continues to be a multi -billion
dollar per year enterprise that will only
end when the scammers stop making
money. There is no magic to preventing
fraud - if it seems too good to be true it
likely is. Always take time to verify the
legitimacy of an unsolicited claim.
Whether received by phone, fax, email
or at the front door, unsolicited means
that you didn't ask for it.
Anyone interested in more information
on fraud can call the CanadianAnti-Fraud
Centre at 1 888 495 8501 or check online at
http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/.
The South Bruce OPP is requesting
anyone with information that can assist
police to call 1-888-310-1122. Should
you wish to remain anonymous, you
can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-
8477 (TIPS) or send a web -tip to
crimestop-gb.org, where you may be
eligible to receive a cash reward of up to
$2,000.
Free showing of Free Birds
1
14164. ;141 Oki, v.*
*el eitiggeduitikeN.64 lot
ftel OOP toil 111•4 foe
•
' ffeara
Make 'Your OHM
Pt COderS eld 1 uil. ,
infer iati let a Astetk
81
.40
kimptan st,coputioi 524-23zi
Free showing on mar. 5 at the
Lucknow Branch Library of the
family movie Free Birds. Two tur-
keys from opposite sides of the
tracks must put aside their differ-
ences and team up to travel back in
time to change the course of history
- and get turkey off the holiday
menu for good. Movie starts at 6:30
p.m. and it is free to all.