Officers of the Lennox and Addington OPP received another fraud / scam call complaint this weekend.
On Feb, 2, shortly after 8 p.m., L&A OPP officers spoke to a 61-year-old female reporting a possible fraud involving her nephew. She attended the detachment to inquire about a phone call she received earlier that day. She informed police that she received a phone call from an unknown number and a male appearing to be in distress and stating that it was her nephew and that he “did not want to spend the night in here” and to help him. She could not verify with confidence that it sounded like her nephew but advised that it could have been. The male went on to say that he was in jail and needed her assistance. The male stated that they needed to hang up and the call ended.
Shortly after, she received a second call from a private number and a male party identifying as, Cst. John Spring #76 with the RCMP. He informed that her nephew was arrested by Amherstview OPP for possessing 10 lbs of marijuana and further requesting $7,000 cash for his bail. She proceeded to gather the incident number. She further collected a callback number from the male. The male advised that the money must be in cash and to call back once she had it.
She proceeded to her bank to withdraw the $7,000 cash. The bank denied her request for this amount of money and she departed back home to inform her husband. She and her husband confirmed to police that no money was exchanged. Police conducted a wellness check on the nephew and he was located at home safe and in good health.
Lennox & Addington County OPP have received 25 calls in 2024 so far for a variety of different types of frauds.
Warning Signs – How to protect yourself
• If you receive a suspicious phone call claiming to be from a family member in an emergency situation, hang up the phone and contact them directly on the number you have in your contact list.
• If the caller claims to be a law enforcement official and asked you to pay a fine or bail, hang up and call your police directly.
• Listen to that inner voice that is screaming at you: “This doesn’t sound right”.
• Be careful what you post online. Scammers can use details shared on social media platforms and dating sites for targeting purposes. Suspects can easily gather names and details about your loved ones.
• Be suspicious of telephone calls that require you to immediately take action and request bail money for a family member in distress.
• Be careful with caller ID numbers that look familiar. Scammers use technology to disguise the actual number they are calling from (spoof) and make it appear as a trusted phone number.
• If you receive an email or text message claiming to be from a friend or loved one asking for money, make the outgoing call to the person by looking up the legitimate phone number you have for them in your contact list.
• Use unique and strong passwords for all social media and email accounts.
Anyone who suspects they have been the victim of cybercrime or fraud should report it to their local OPP Detachment and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s online reporting system or by phone at 1-888-495-8501. If not a victim, report it to the CAFC anyway.