NEWS RELEASE
SOUTH SIMCOE POLICE
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INNISFIL - There's a new twist on gift card scams.
Police were called to an Innisfil business on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 by an employee who said he had received an email from someone claiming to be his company CEO.
In the phoney email, the fake CEO asked for the employee's cell phone number. The employee then received a text from the 'boss' to purchase a large amount of iTunes gift cards to give out to clients as gifts.
While the employee was making the purchases at one store, a diligent clerk asked if this was for CRA and the employee said it was for business.
After buying more gift cards at two other locations, the victim became suspicious after persistent texting from the suspect.
Once back at work, the employee asked the CEO if he had made these requests and the answer was no.
Some of the transactions were cancelled in time but the fraud still amounted to several thousand dollars.
South Simcoe Police Service wants the public to be aware of this type of new, targeted gift card scam. If you receive an unusual request from your employer to make large purchases of gift cards, we urge you to first confirm that it's legitimate by contacting the employer.
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