Phone Scam Claims Another Victim

Wednesday, 29 January 2020 at 08:25

A person in Norfolk County lost a small fortune. Police say the victim was told to wire money to post bail for their son after a serious car crash. Money was wired before the victim got ahold of their actual son.

NORFOLK COUNTY - A Norfolk County resident is out almost $45,000 after falling victim to a common scam.

Police say the resident got a call on Sunday evening from someone claiming to be there son. During the course of the conversation, they were told that he was currently in custody for "Being over the limit" after being involved in a collision that injured a young female. The male requested funds for bail court in order to be released at which time the victims attended their bank and transferred the funds.

A second and third call was placed to the victims by a male claiming to be their son's lawyer asking for additional funds due to an infant dying as a result of the collision and that bail had increased as a result of the death.

The victims subsequently transferred over $44,500 to the unknown male and realized that this was in fact a scam after they spoken to their son.

The OPP are reminding all Norfolk County residents to be extremely vigilant and to be alert for unsolicited calls, emails, faxes or visitors that arrive at your residence.

If anyone should receive a call in this manner, please contact your immediate family and inquire if anyone is in need of assistance. Please do not forward any funds without speaking to family members first.

Modern, tech savvy, scammers have personal information about before they ever try to contact you. It is imperative to verify any unsolicited contact before you respond and provide information. Keep your guard up when you receive a surprise call from anyone soliciting funds and indicating that a loved one is in jail or have been involved in a serious incident.

You work hard for your money, so work hard to protect it. Do not hand it over to a smooth talking con artist. Fraud is a multi-billion dollar per year business that will only stop when the con artists stop making money.