Port Hope Police are warning residents to be mindful to a phone scam. On the 13th of December 2018 in the evening hours an elderly Port Hope received a telephone call from someone purporting to be a Microsoft Employee. The man was told that Microsoft was cancelling his subscription and he was eligible for a 300 refund. The man was directed to a web site and was duped into giving control of his computer over to them. This allowed the fraudster to transfer $10,000 cash advance from the man’s visa over to his account. The man was then told they made a mistake and transferred too much and the man was convinced to send the balance, $9,700.00 through “FEDX” to an address in Markham leaving 300 in the man’s account. Later, the man realized he was a victim of fraud and attended the Port Hope Police Service. Officers worked quickly and were successful in getting the transfer reversed. The Financial Intuition was able to lock down all his accounts to prevent further activity.
Police are advising residents to be careful falling for such scams. If it sounds too good to be true it is most likely a fraud/scam.