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2 CRIME DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com An Oakville business- 2 person is warning resi- F dents to be wary after he 5 was scammed out of $3,000 g by a caller claiming to be 2 from Oakville Hydro. 2 Jamie Kokiw is a co- 6 owner of Dietrichs Butcher & Marketplace, which located at 1260 Speer Ons Satarday, Nov. 12 Ko- kiwsays heand his brother were enjoying a busy day at their shop when the company Mine and they oa. sically stated they were from Oakville Hydro and we have an outstanding balance," said Kokiw. “My brother said ‘that can't be right. I'm taking a look at our invoices, there's no outstanding balance.' They said, ‘Well, you're about to have your electric- SHOP OWNER WARNING ity shut off.’ Kokiw noted there had been issues regarding the building's hydro account before due to the business’ change of ownershij because of this he felt vita the caller was saying was feasible. He said that when he phoned the caller back, the recording he heard was virtually identical to the recording people are greet- ed with when they call the im ike they copied it and put it on their answering service," said Kokiw. The caller reportedly told Kokiw the building's power would be shut off in 45 minutes if they did not receive a payment of $3,000. With a building full of customers and inventory Kokiw said he just wanted to get the problem resolved and was assured by the cal- Metroland file photo Halton police are offering advice on tackling frauds taking place in the community. ler that if all this turned out to be an error Kokiw would get his money re- funded to him during the week when the hydro com- pany's accounting depart- ment returned. The caller went on to say that because it was the Join Al in supporting and giving back to our local community. Q Peter Messenger, ‘A1 President — At Air Conditioning & Heating € : 2 © Whether you're a dog person or a cat person, there’s no denying the amount of joy animals bring to our lives. This year, we have been proud to partner with the Oakville & Milton Humane Society on their Mission Pawsible and Pet Food Bank initiatives. Giving back has always been an important part of Al. From when my grandfather founded the company in 1967, we've believed that when pani support local it makes a difference in our communities. 99 vy HUMANE SOCIETY AlAir.ca | 647-492-6781 3-1420 Cornwall Road, Oakville, ON and causes, You can transform the life of an animal this holiday season. Donate to OMHS and your gift will be matched until December 31, 2022. As always, if you need us we're here for you! RESIDENTS AFTER BEING SCAMMED weekend and Oakville Hy- dro's offices were closed the payment would need to be made through a Bitcoin machine at a local conve- nience store. Kokiw said he had his doubts about this payment method, but the caller text- ed him what appeared to be a legitimate Oakville Hy- dro QR code. The caller also report- edly kept the pressure up as Kokiw prepared to make the payment keeping him on the phone as he went from the bank to the Bit- coin machin "In hindsight they were just trying to keep me on the phone so I wouldn't be able to verify anything or talk to anyone around me about it,” he said. After Kokiw made the payment, he was trans- ferred to someone new who told him he would need to See - page 11