Cops issue warning of bank investment scams as fraud rises from Oshawa to Pickering
Published July 13, 2022 at 5:04 pm
Durham residents should be aware of a rise in bank investment scams which sees con artists pretend to be a bank investigator.
The scammers call prospective victims and claims their account has been compromised by another fictional employee. They tell the victim that “the bank” has launched an internal investigation.
The fraudsters may send over a fake ID in an attempt to sucker the victim. They will then say the victim’s money needs to be moved to a safer account.
At this point the swindler says they can take over the victim’s computer to move the funds and not compromise the investigation. If given access the thieves can empty the account.
The warning comes amid a rise in fraud investigations and continued alerts from DRPS regarding them. Chief among this cases is the s0-called “grandparent” scam in which the con artist pretends to be the victim’s grandchild in trouble.
These often claim the grandchild has been arrested and needs bail money. Usually a separate person will come to the victims home to collect money the victim has been instructed to withdraw.
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Other recent scams include a $40,000 contractor fraud, a $1.2 million lottery scam and a $55,000 bitcoin heist.
As a result of the rise in these fraud attempts Durham Police launched the “phone a friend” campaign to encourage discussion about suspicious activity particularly directed toward elderly residents.
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