PETERBOROUGH-A Peterborough man has lost $7,000 in an emergency scam.
Police say in late January 2018 the victim, a man in his late 70’s, received a phone call from someone he thought was his son who quickly stated he had been in an accident, was at court and he needed help to speak to his attorney.
Another man then got on the phone and allegedly identified himself as the son’s “attorney”. The attorney stated that his client admitted he was at fault during the accident and needed to pay a $4,000 fine plus cover costs associated to the other driver including medical costs.
According to police the “attorney” explained to the victim that he had to go to a store and purchase Steam gift cards and he would later call back to redeem the cards. Steam is an online gaming platform and Steam cards are prepaid gift cards that can be used to purchase games, software and other items on the web site.
The victim says he went to a local drug store where he initially bought $3,500 in Steam gift cards. The victim called the “attorney” back and provided the card codes off each card. The attorney told the victim to go back out and purchase another $3,500 in Steam cards, which the victim did according to police.
The victim allegedly purchased $7,000 in Steam gift cards and provided all the redeemable codes to the fraudulent lawyer via telephone.
A couple of days later the victim called his son to check on him and learned that he had been the victim of a scam.
Police say this type of fraud, typically called an Emergency Scam, creates a high-stress, quick response situation that plays off the victim’s emotions. The Peterborough Police Service is urging people to stop, pause and think when they receive this type of phone call, email or text. If you receive this sort of call police recommend you immediately hang up and try to get a hold of the family member who has reportedly been in the accident or needs help. If you cannot get a hold of that family member try to get in touch with another family member who can verify that the person is in fact okay.
Warning bells should be going off when someone on the phone asks you to make any sort of payment with gift cards. Before making any sort of payment, call a trusted family member or friend and check with your bank. Never make a payment to anyone who claims you can only pay via an untraceable method, like wire transfers, prepaid debit cards, or gift cards.
Officers are urging retailers to be vigilant and aware of customers coming into a store purchasing large amounts of gift cards. Please stop and think and ask the customer a couple of quick questions to determine if they are potentially being scammed.
