An elderly Port Hope Woman nearly fell victim to a phone scam. On the 4 th of March the woman received a phone call from a person purporting to be a bank manager saying her accounts had been compromised and she needed to give $600.00 for her accounts to remain in good standing. The woman was directed to go get $600.00 in Google Play Cards. The woman went to a Petro Canada Gas Station to get the cards and an alert employee there told her it was probably a scam and did not sell her the cards. She returned home and notified Port Hope Police When officers attended they advised the woman it was in fact a scam.
On March 6 th 2020 another elderly Port Hope Woman was contacted this time someone saying they were with the CIA. She was advised her visa card had been compromised and needed to pay for it again in Google Play Cards. The woman declined but was coaxed into giver her visa card number. When the call was terminated she realized she had been scammed and contacted her bank who locked down her accounts and cards.
Port Hope Police continue to warn residents to be aware of these and other scams. Never give financial information over the phone to unknown person(s). Banks, Government institutions never ask for money to be paid back over the phone and especially with Google Play Cards or other forms. People with elderly family members are urged to discuss these scams with them. Scam Artists can be very convincing scaring people into acting. In these two cases the intended victims were lucky.
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
