Identity fraud probe leads Ontario police to arrest of Mississauga resident

A Mississauga resident faces charges after an individual allegedly tried to fraudulently acquire a credit card via a business in southwestern Ontario last week, police say.

Norfolk County Ontario Provincial Police said a fraud investigation conducted by their officers determined a person showed up at a business in Simcoe, southwest of Hamilton, last Wednesday afternoon just before 4 p.m. “to collect a credit card that had been fraudulently ordered.”

Police responded to the business on Norfolk Street North after receiving a report of a fraud in progress, police said in a news release issued on Monday.

“The investigation determined that an individual attended the business to collect a credit card that had been fraudulently ordered,” police said, adding that “prior to police being contacted, the victim had alerted the business to the suspected fraudulent activity.”

Officers subsequently located an individual at the business and took them into custody without incident.

A 43-year-old Mississauga resident is charged with:

• Personation with intent — intent to obtain property (identity fraud).
• Use, deals, acts on forged document.
• Possession of a forged document with intent.

The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Simcoe on Oct. 6.

OPP say there are various types of credit or debit card fraud that can target any unsuspecting victim.

“Credit or debit card fraud involves the compromise of any information from your credit card or debit card. The stolen information can then be used to purchase goods or services in your name,” police said in an online description of the many types of fraud in Ontario.

Those who commit fraud can compromise information from cards in several ways, according to police:

• Using the physical card after it has been lost or stolen.
• Using the card number and CVV (three-digit code on the back of the card) without the actual plastic card (also known as Card-Not-Present scams).