KAWARTHA LAKES-Kawartha Lakes Police Service is issuing another warning about gift card scams after a 74-year-old woman lost $4,500.
The initial investigation has determined that on September 12, 2022, the victim received a “pop-up” on her computer claiming her computer had crashed and was directed to call a telephone number. She made contact with an individual who advised her computer had been hacked, if she did not attend the bank and withdraw cash, her bank account would be cleared out by scammers.
After withdrawing money from her account, the victim received a second call from the scammer and was directed to purchase gift cards totalling $10,000. The victim attended multiple businesses in Lindsay purchasing $4500 in cards and provided the gift card numbers to the scammers. After being questioned about the purchases by a number of alert clerks, the victim reported the fraud according to police.
Police say there are a wide range of active frauds and scams, and the best way to protect yourself is with knowledge. Learn how to recognize when someone is trying to scam you, how to reject the attempt and where to report it.
Resources:
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/fraud-scams.html
https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
