Two Oxford residents bilked out of nearly $250,000

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Police are investigating two more frauds in the county, much to the chagrin of at least one member of the Oxford OPP.

On Jan. 13, police were notified of a fraud involving Bitcoin that resulted in the loss of over $200,000 for a resident of Zorra Township. The same day police were told about another fraud involving Apple Pay cards that resulted in the loss of approximately $40,000 for a resident of Tillsonburg.

The two frauds are not connected but they both involve fraudsters asking for payment through abnormal means, such as Bitcoin and gift cards, and communicating over the phone or through social media platforms.

Community Safety and Media Relations Constable Randi Crawford said people need to think these situations through before sending payment.

“Regardless of what people are calling you for, if someone is asking you for an abnormal form of payment, it is likely a scam. You need to take some time and explore it more.”

It is rare for someone to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars but it doesn’t make Crawford feel any better about the crimes.

“My heart absolutely breaks for any victim and in this particular situation I don’t know all the details but it is likely that person’s life savings or at least a large part of it.”

She added scammers come up with believable excuses about why a payment didn’t go through or they have what appears to be a legitimate story about an investment.

“They are preying on vulnerable people who like to do the right thing. They like to pay their bills on time to make sure they are doing everything they can to make their accounts right. These fraudsters often build such a close relationship over time, a victim believes they are doing good and it’s not until well into the scam they say wait a second, something isn’t right here.”

While she didn’t have statistics Crawford did admit the times people are reimbursed for the money they were bilked out of were few and far between. She also encouraged people to become educated through a very informative website.

“The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has up-to-date statistics on how many dollars have been lost. There is a lot of great information there and I want people to see what current scams are circulating and find out what they need to be looking for.”

According to the centre’s data, there were over 40,000 fraud reports processed from January last year up to October. There were over 20,000 victims and $503 million lost.

“They also have information like an index of scams A to Z and rip-offs affecting businesses. It’s really a great resource for people. These criminals keep changing their games and we have to be very mindful of that and help each other out.”

Crawford can often be seen around Oxford County giving talks to seniors and other groups with the consistent message of not becoming a victim. While she can’t say what effect her chats are having, she won’t stop getting the word out.

“It’s hard to gauge the success but I believe when I do a presentation and people take things away with them, they’ve done something to modify their behaviour and reduce the risk of becoming a victim. It might mean they are able to avoid certain scams because of what they have learned and are going to think twice. The more people share the information the better.”

Crawford added even she was very close to becoming a victim recently.

“I received a text on my phone and it said a UPS package was waiting for me and I had to pay a fee to get it. There was even a picture of it and although it didn’t have my name on it, I almost clicked it. I thought because of the Canada Post strike and I had ordered items over Christmas, it was very believable.”

She said without having the training to help others, she may have clicked on that link.

“The other thing people need to remember is nothing needs to be done right that second. Even if it is the government claiming they need to get in touch with you, they aren’t expecting it right that second. Sometimes, criminals will make it seem like you had to decide immediately.”

Crawford explained if someone owes the CRA money, oftentimes an agreement is worked out to pay over months as opposed to a one-time transaction.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website can be found at https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm or people can call 1-888-495-8501 for more information or to report a fraud.

To book a presentation from Constable Crawford, email her at Randi.Crawford@opp.ca.