(SOUTHERN BRUCE COUNTY, ON) - The South Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is asking residents to continue watching out for cons and scams following a report from a resident in the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie on June 30, 2018. The caller was allowed computer access and gift card "payments" were requested. Police have noticed a trend where con artists request payments via gift cards, most notably "ITunes" gift cards and "Steam" online gaming gift cards.
Tech-savvy scammers use technology to create very convincing schemes to trick you into sending them money. They will commonly use the name of a real company in order to gain your trust so that you will send money or personal information to them.
There is no magic to preventing fraud. If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Remember that you can't win a contest that you didn't enter in the first place. Your best defense is to verify any unsolicited contact. Unsolicited means that you didn't ask for it.
Fraud is a multi-million dollar enterprise that will only end when the con artists stop making money.
Anyone interested in more information on fraud can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1 888 495 8501 or check online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/.
The South Bruce OPP is requesting anyone with information that can assist police to call 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a secure web-tip at www.cstip.ca, where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2000.