The Wellington County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are investigating after learning last week of an online fraud that targeted a local senior over the past year.
Since February 2024, the elderly victim has sent approximately $250,000 to a person they met online, police said in a news release.
"Over the course of several months, the victim was instructed to attend local businesses to purchase gift cards," police said.
"The victim would then provide the scammer with numbers on the cards. The victim then suspected they were being subject to fraudulent activity and reported the incident to police."
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or, if you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a tip online at www.csgw.tips. You may be eligible for a reward from Crime Stoppers of up to $2,000.
Meanwhile, the OPP encouraged the public to stay alert and educated to reduce the risk of being a victim of fraud.
If you receive an unsolicited phone call or message, asking for personal information (name, birthday, address, phone number, bank information, SIN number) or payment via gift cards for a product, do not provide the information and hang up and block the phone number, police advised.
Warning signs to look out for when receiving unsolicited messages include emails, text-messages, phone calls sent at odd times of the night, creating a false sense of urgency, spelling errors, lack of punctuation or capitals in sentences, automated messages, random links or attachments, and generic business or company names.
Never provide anyone with personal financial information, police said.
If you are the recipient of a fraudulent call, text, or email, or if you have been a victim of a fraud, you are encouraged to report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by calling 1-888-495-8501 or visit http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
