A Guelph senior was defrauded of $8,000 this week while he believed he was helping solve a fraud case.
On Tuesday afternoon the victim received a call from someone claiming to be from his bank and asking for help. The victim was directed to attend two separate businesses on Eramosa Road where he bought 16 $500 prepaid Visa cards and provided the card numbers to the scammer who was still on the phone.
The victim attended a third business where the clerk told him he was being scammed and refused to sell him more cards.
Guelph police would like to remind the public that no police officer or government or bank official will ever instruct you to purchase and send gift cards. Please be very vigilant and cautious whenever you are speaking with someone you don’t know, especially online or over the phone. Please also seek advice from a family member, co-worker, trusted friend or the Guelph Police Service at 519-824-1212 before following through on instructions received from a person that you don’t know.
