A Lindsay woman received a telephone call on March 7, 2019 from a person posing as an employee at the woman’s bank. The caller told the woman that her bank account had been compromised, and asked her to assist in an internal investigation he was conducting for the bank. The caller further instructed the woman not to report the investigation to her local police service or to her bank branch. The woman agreed to assist in the investigation. The caller made several telephone calls to the woman during the following days, instructing her to purchase gift cards and then provide him with the activation numbers from the back of the cards. Over the course of four days, the woman purchased 83 gift cards, worth $14, 950.00 and provided the male caller with the activation numbers for the cards. At this point the woman became suspicious and attended her local bank in Lindsay to make inquiries about the internal investigation. Staff at the woman’s bank informed her that she had been defrauded and the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service was notified of the incident.
The City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service is warning the public to exercise caution when receiving telephone calls from persons reporting to be employees of a bank, the Canada Revenue Agency or other seemingly real institutions. Legitimate agencies will not use intimidation tactics, they will not request a payment in prepaid credit or gift cards, they will not threaten to contact the police or have you arrested and they will not instruct you not to contact the police yourself. If you experience any of these scenarios, please contact the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service immediately. Please also consider having a conversation with any vulnerable people in your life about how they can protect themselves from being victimized by fraud.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
