Police say a Guelph senior was scammed out of $12,000 on Monday by someone pretending to work for a television streaming service.
The victim, in her 70s, called police to report the fraud. She reported she was having a billing issue with a television streaming service and spoke to someone on the phone she believed was a representative of the company. The male said he could reimburse her $120 but needed access to her computer, which the victim granted. When she regained access to the computer the victim noticed an additional $12,000 in her chequing account. The male said he had put the decimal in the wrong place and convinced the victim to send him $12,000 cash to correct the error.
The victim withdrew the funds from the bank over two days and mailed it to an address in Barrie. She later discovered the $12,000 which went into her chequing account had actually been transferred from her own savings account.
Police urge residents are urged to be vigilant and cautious whenever you are speaking with someone you don’t know, especially online or over the phone.
