An Aylmer woman found out an alleged lottery win was not what it appeared to be.
She contacted Aylmer Police last week after she received several calls advising her she had won a lottery, however she had to buy $17,500 in gift cards to claim her winnings.
She did not follow through with the directions and instead put a call into police.
That same day (Nov. 21), Aylmer Police received a complaint from a resident reporting she had received a call from an individuals noting her Social Insurance Number (SIN) had been compromised and she needed to place her SIN card on hold.
The caller advised she needed to purchase $5,000 of crypto currency to confirm it was her account.
She did not provide the caller with financial or personal information.
Police information revealed that the phone number is not listed. The phone number is believed to be internet generated.
With the holiday season upon us, increase in fraudulent type incidents is expected. Police are reminding the public not to fall for caller’s demands who use high pressure tactics or promise of lottery winnings.
Prevention tips include;
Don’t be afraid to say no:
· Fraudsters tend to be aggressive and use high pressure tactics in order to achieve their goal.
· Hang up
· Request any information in writing
· Watch out for urgent pleas and requests that play on your emotions
Do your research:
· Always verify legitimacy of the organization fraudsters are purporting to represent such as revenue Canada, Charitable organizations, banks, lottery corporations.
Never give out your personal information:
· Beware of unsolicited calls where fraudsters ask for your name, address, banking information, social insurance numbers, and credit card information.
· If you did not initiate a call, you don’t know who you are talking to and therefore, be suspicious of caller’s legitimacy.
Be aware of upfront fees:
· Many scams request you to pay fees in advance of receiving goods, services, or a prize. It’s illegal for a company to ask you to pay a fee upfront before they’ll give you a loan.
· There are no prize fees or taxes in Canada. If you won it, it’s free.
Recognize Spoofing:
· Spoofing is used by fraudsters to mislead victims and convince them that they are communicating with legitimate people, companies, or organizations. Here are the main types of spoofing used by fraudsters:
Caller ID spoofing:
· Fraudsters have the ability to manipulate the phone number appearing on call display either by call or text message. Fraudsters can display legitimate phone numbers for law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, government agencies or service providers.
Email spoofing:
· Similar to Caller ID spoofing, fraudsters can manipulate the sender’s email address in order to make you believe that the email you’re receiving is from a legitimate source.
Website spoofing:
· Fraudsters will create fraudulent websites that look legitimate. The fake websites can pretend to be a financial institution, company offering employment, investment company or government agency. In many cases, fraudsters will use a similar domain/website URL to the legitimate company or organization with a minor spelling difference.
The best advice to consider is: If it sounds too good to be true . . . it is!
