The Northumberland Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are warning residents of current fraudulent activity which is taking place across Northumberland County and beyond.
Scam 1: A house to house visit by a person claiming to sell and install appliances or offer a home service/renovation through government grants or rebates. This may be also be attempted via a phone call or email. The victim will then provide bank payment details and possibly in the form of a void check.
This is the beginning of a Notice of Security Interest (NOSI) scam. Although an appliance may be installed or a service completed, the scammers will then try to place a lien on the mortgage and then others are sent to continue the scam.
Organizers of this fraud use fake agreements to register a NOSI which are similar to liens against victims’ homes without their knowledge. Later, a N OSI would paid off to the benefit of the fraud organizers using fraudulent, high-interest mortgages against the victims’ homes. In many cases, this fraud leaves the victims in financial peril; and in some cases, forced the victims to sell their homes.
You can check for any NOSIs against your home by purchasing a copy of your parcel register through the Ontario Land Registry Access at www.onland.ca. If you find a NOSI against your home, the newly enacted Homeowner Protection Act deems all consumer NOSIs registered before June 6, 2024, to be expired and allows them to be removed by registering an application to delete an expired NOSI through a lawyer. The Consumer Protection Act also allows you to withdraw from a contra ct within one year and get a full refund if a business or individual has misrepresented a product or service. Products or services sold door-to-door also have a ‘cooling off period’ that allows you to cancel an agreement within 10 days.
Please do your research and background check any offers you are provided.
Scam 2: On the increase is the sextortion scam. This is a form of blackmail that involves someone threatening to send sexual or intimate images/videos of you to other people if you don’t pay them. The scammers may also purport to have hacked your email and will disclose your data and browser history unless you send them crypto currency or another form payment.
Do not reply, click links, send any more images, pay or respond to demands. The OPP advise to take screen shots of the text or email, block the account and report it to the platform as well as to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 and local police.
More information on internet safety can be found online by visiting www.cybertip.ca and www.getcybersafe.ca
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
