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Broadcast time: 12:30 pm |
Date: August 23, 2018 |
The Sarnia Police Service is again reminding the people of Sarnia that “Scam Artists” are always hard at it.
As of recent, we have dealt with two incidents where individuals have been defrauded of a significant amount of money.
In the first incident, the individual required a loan and was contacted by a company that seemed to offer a really good opportunity. The only catch was that the person requiring the loan had to forward approximately $1000.00 to the company to receive a $10000.00 loan. Also, as part of the registration for the loan, the victim gave out their Driver’s License number and Social Insurance number. The victim did in fact forward the money and unfortunately never received any of the loan that was promised and has not heard or been able to find out anything further. Subsequently the victim contacted the police.
In this matter loan companies are not allowed to ask for money up front when giving a loan. This is information that may not be known by the general public and may have helped in this matter. Also, there are now concerns in regards to identity theft and fraud occurring.
In a second incident, an individual was contacted by someone advising that they were from the CRA and that the individual owed approximately $12000.00 or else a warrant would be requested for their arrest. The victim was then directed to attend a Bit Coin Machine and transfer money to a Bit Coin account where once in the cyber world it can no longer be tracked.
These are both examples of ongoing scams that continue to be twisted in different ways to lure people into giving up their hard earned money out of fear or chance that seems too good to be true.
The Sarnia Police Service wish to remind the public that:
- The CRA will not contact you by phone and threaten to issue a warrant and arrest you.
- When looking for a loan company do not pay money upfront to get money and research them thoroughly not just through their web site or someone you may talk to on the phone..
- Do not give out sensitive information if you have not confirmed who the individual you are talking to is.
Remember if you are concerned and wish to confirm it truly is the CRA, you can find their phone number and contact them directly, do not use the number they give you.
Unfortunately, in the cases above, the victims are out their money and will not see it again. The criminals are believed to be from out of province making it extremely difficult to track.
If you do not lose any money and do not give out any information, there is no need to contact the police. Just hang up on the scammers and ignore their requests.
Constable Giovanni Sottosanti
Media Officer & Executive Officer
Tel: 519-344-8861 Ext 6168
Cell: 519-312-8986
Email: 168@police.sarnia.on.ca