Police in the city and county of Peterborough are warning the public of a local increase in bank scams, after at least four recent incidents including two where residents were defrauded of a total of around $31,000.
According to the Peterborough Police Service, in one of the incidents a victim received what they believed to be a call from their banking institution claiming the victim’s bank cards were compromised and they needed to be sent to the bank.
The scammer instructed the victim to place their bank cards in an envelope and leave it on their porch for a courier. The envelope was picked up sometime overnight last Friday (March 13) and, shortly after, the victim noticed fraudulent activity in their accounts with almost $17,000 lost.
In another incident, Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say a victim received a call last Wednesday (March 11) from someone claiming to be from their bank. The scammer said the victim’s credit card had been fraudulently used in another province and instructed the victim to place both their credit card and debit card in an envelope for collection as part of the bank’s investigation.
At around 11:30 p.m. an individual attended the residence and picked up the envelope. The following day, the same scammer contacted the victim and asked them various personal questions, telling the victim the information was needed as part of the bank’s investigation. It was later discovered that over $14,000 had been transferred out of the victim’s account.
Police also report two other recent incidents where victims were convinced by someone claiming to be from their bank to cut up their bank or credit cards and leave them for pick up. One of the victims lost $3,000 and the other victim realized it was a scam and called their bank to have their cards cancelled before they lost any money.
Police are providing these reminders to avoid falling prey to bank scams:
- Slow down and verify. Fraudsters rely on fear, urgency, and confusion to pressure people into making quick decisions.
- Don’t trust phone calls or texts that appear to come from your bank as they can be spoofed. If you receive a phone call or text from your bank, verify it is valid by calling the number on the back of your bank card and not the number from the phone call or text.
- Banks will never ask for your bank or credit cards or send someone to pick them up, and they will never ask you to provide your PIN or personal information over the phone.
If you believe you are the victim of a scam, report it to your local police service or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
