NEWS RELEASE
SOUTH SIMCOE POLICE SERVICE
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The South Simcoe Police Service wants to make the public aware of fraud incidents in our communities.
- A woman on Facebook Marketplace clicked on a pop-up ad. Her computer froze and a chat box appeared with a male identifying himself as a Microsoft Agent. The "agent" indicated that he would help unlock her computer but required her to send a picture of her driver’s licence and credit card. The victim complied and then the “agent” said he required a Google Play card of $100 to complete the transaction. The victim lost the $100.
- A teenage male was the target of a Sextortion scam after engaging in a private message conversation with an unknown female on Instagram. Sextortion is when an online predator tricks someone into giving them nude images or videos, and then demands money, more images, or makes other demands – threatening to share the images with the victim’s friends and family if they don’t comply. In this case, the youth did not comply with the demand for money. He immediately told a parent who called police.
The South Simcoe Police Service is urging residents to be vigilant as fraudsters are extremely active on social media, phone, email and text. Remember, if it feels wrong, it probably is. If it seems too good to be, it's probably a scam. Always pause and verify the source of a request before proceeding. We encourage parents to have open dialogue with their kids so children feel comfortable disclosing if they are victimized. Please chat with elderly loved ones to ensure they are aware of frauds. For more information about all the latest scams, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm.
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