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The Grey Bruce OPP is warning residents to remain vigilant after they received five calls in which people were defrauded of money over two days.
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On Aug. 16, just before 10:30 a.m., an individual reported that they had sent $900 to an e-commerce investment company. The victim tried to contact the company, but the website has now been shut down, police said in a news release.
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Later the same day, at 6:17 p.m., police say an individual purchased concert tickets through an online shop and e-transferred $150 to the seller. Now, the seller is no longer communicating with the buyer, it said in the release.
Just after 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 17, an individual invested in “Elon Musk’s Supercomputers,” sending $2,000 to the company. The company is no longer communicating with the buyer, police said.
A short while later, just after 10 a.m., an individual reported an identity theft when a loan was taken out in the victim’s name, the release said.
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Then just before 11 a.m. on Aug. 17, an individual purchased an item online, but the received product was not as described, the release said.
Police advise that if something sounds too good to be true, or if something seems off, it is probably a scam.
“Don’t send money until you have physically seen the items and tested it,” the release said. “Do your research on investments to ensure the company you are investing with is legitimate.”
People are also advised to shred all documents that have their personal information on them, such as name, date of birth, address, phone number and social insurance number.
“There is no magic to preventing fraud,” police said. “Trust your instincts, not the stranger at your door or on the phone.”
Those who think they have spotted a scam or have been targeted by a scam can contact several government and law enforcement agencies to make a report. Services available include the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at antifraudcentre.ca, The Competition Bureau’s Information Centre at competitionbureau.gc.ca, the Office of Consumer Affairs at consumerhandbook.ca, the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org, and the Canada Revenue Agency at cra-arc.gc.ca
