Londoners are being asked to stay vigilant after two women fell victim to scams, including a woman who was taken for $1.25-million.
London police say there were two separate cases. In the first, an older woman got a call from someone claiming to be from her credit card company, saying that her card was compromised, and she needed to send money via a Bitcoin machine to help in the investigation. The woman was taken for $85,000.
In the second case, police have charged a 33-year-old man with defrauding a woman of over $1.25 million between 2013 and 2018. Jeremy Walzack of London is charged with fraud over $5,000, and processing proceeds over $5,000. He is due to appear in a London court on Thursday, as these charges have yet to be proven.
London Police Detective Sergeant Henry Pateman said legitimate companies would never ask for payment via Bitcoin, gift cards, or through money-transfer services.
"These scams are sophisticated, and criminals are using technology to trick the victim into believing that the information presented to them by the suspect is real," said Pateman. "Don’t ever provide personal or financial information to anyone unless you know the person you are giving it to."
If you know of a situation in which an older person may be taken advantage of, contact London police or Crime Stoppers immediately.
Any suspicious emails, text messages or phone calls should be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
