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Police warn seniors of Bank Investigator scam By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Halton police are warning seniors not to be taken in by a `Bank Investigator Scam,' which has begun making the rounds in this region. The scam, which usually targets senior women, involves a fraudster telephoning the victim and claiming to be a bank investigator who needs assistance in catching a bank employee who has been stealing money. The fraudster then instructs the senior to go to their bank and make a cash withdrawal, usually in 100 dollar bills, for amounts in the $5,000 range. The senior is told not to tell the bank teller what they are doing because the teller may be involved. The senior is then instructed to put the money in an envelope and give it to the `bank investigator' at a future meeting. This `investigator' then comes up with a reason to disappear with the money stating it is counterfeit or is temporarily needed for the investigation. Whatever the excuse given, the result is the same -- the senior never sees the `investigator' or their money again, according to Halton Regional Police. In one incident, a fraudster was able to convince a senior to hand over more than $6,000 by claiming it was counterfeit. 3 · Thursday, August 2, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com "A lot of times the seniors panic and feel the need to make this payment because they don't want it to affect their credit rating, so they just send off a cheque or give credit card information to whoever, even though they don't know who is at the other end." Constable Wendy Moraghan, Elder Services Co-ordinator, Halton Regional Police The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (formerly known as Phone Busters) reports this scam has been on the rise in Canada with more than 100 complaints received within the last year. The money scammed from victims amounted to $500,000. In Halton, police have received three complaints from seniors in Oakville and Burlington about someone calling them and attempting to swindle them with this type of scam. In all these cases, the would-be victims did not allow the scam to progress to the point where they lost money. "The problem is we don't know how many people have received these kinds of phone calls," said Constable Wendy Moraghan, Elder Services Co-ordinator with Halton police. "Most people don't bother to call the police when they get these calls. They just hang up on the person." Moraghan said the fraudsters have claimed to be various financial institutions and sometimes have detailed personal information about their potential victims, which they have obtained from reading obituaries or other online material. "People need to be wary that if they get this kind of phone call from someone claiming to be from one of the major banks or financial institutions, it is probably not real because they don't operate that way," said Moraghan. Residents are advised to never give out personal information on the telephone to anyone and to report this type of phone call to the police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Inside Opinion.............................................6 Travel..............................................13 Health.............................................14 Sports..............................................16 Classified........................................20 Full Delivery: Freshco, Food Basics, Metro, M&M Meats, Home Hardware, Pizza Hut, Real Canadian Superstore, JYSK, 2001 Audio, The Bay, Loblaws, Michael-Angelo's, No Frills, Sobeys, Fortinos Partial Delivery: Best Buy, Home Outfitters, Payless Shoe Source, Pharma Save, Toys R Us, U Weight Loss, Walmart, Zellers, Shaw Festival, Part Source, Pharmaplus, Shoppers Drug Mart, Future Shop, The Brick, Canadian Tire, The Source, Staples, Sears, Centennial Windows For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com Centre at 1-888-495-8501. Nor is the `Bank Investigator Scam' the only fraud currently targeting seniors in Oakville. Moraghan said fraudsters are also sending seniors fake collection agency notices or calling seniors directly and claiming to represent a collection agency. In this scam, the senior is told this is their final notice to deal with some imaginary debt before their credit is affected. "One person said they received calls from a collection agency stating they required a settlement on outstanding medical bills," said Moraghan. "A lot of times the seniors panic and feel the need to make this payment because they don't want it to affect their credit rating so they just send off a cheque or give credit card information to whoever, even though they don't know who is at the other end." FAMILY GOLF LEARNING CENTRE August 6, 13, 20, 27 GOLF CAMPS START Adventure House Travel & Uniglobe Glen Abbey have joined forces to serve you better. 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