Guelph police are advising residents to stay alert when checking their emails and text messages following two recent fraud incidents.
Authorities reported that a woman in her 20s lost around $50,000 from her primary and investment bank accounts on Sunday, while the next day, a woman in her 70s claimed she lost over $5,000 after texting someone she believed was her son.
Scott Tracey, a spokesperson for the Guelph Police Service, mentioned that the younger victim “had received an e-mail from her bank indicating that she needed to log into her account and read a secure message.”
“She clicked on the link … provided all of her login information, and then unfortunately a short time later began receiving messages from her bank indicating that her accounts had been emptied.”
Police noted that the older woman received texts claiming her son had been in an accident and required money for damages; she sent two deposits of $3,000 and $2,000 before realizing those texts weren’t actually from him.
March is Fraud Prevention Month
Tracey emphasized that individuals need to “have their guard up” when checking their online messages.
“It’s best to try and confirm [by] reaching out to that person directly just to make sure that that is in fact them that’s contacting you.”
If you receive suspicious messages from your bank, Tracey suggests getting in touch with your branch independently before taking any action.
“We certainly encourage people to be proactive beforehand and try to prevent themselves from becoming victims,” Tracey said, “rather than hoping that we can recover the funds afterwards.”
If you suspect you might be a fraud victim, Tracey advises contacting the police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
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