Staff
Grey County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) urge residents to beware of the Microsoft Scam after an elderly person in the Municipality of Meaford was scammed of nearly $2,000 by this familiar scam, but with a different spin.
On May 26, the victim received a phone call from a person claiming to be a representative of Microsoft and informed the victim that a virus was detected on his computer. The victim provided the fraudster with the pass-codes allowing remote access to his computer. What was different about this Microsoft scam was the fact that the victim was instructed to pay the fraudster, who identified himself as Ravi Kanaujiya of Oman, via a money gram through Western Union, which he did.
The fraudster called a second time stating the money had not been received and instructed the victim to return to Western Union to complete the transaction. The victim checked his bank account and confirmed that, in fact, the money had not been withdrawn so he returned to Western Union at which time he was told to contact his bank and police as this was likely a scam.
As it turned out, the fraudster was able to move money from the victim’s line of credit into the checking account so that it would appear that no monies had been withdrawn when in fact they had. The victim would have lost another $1,960 had he not been warned of the likeliness of the scam.
Fraud is a serious international problem. It steals your money, your identity, and even your self-respect. Grey County OPP urge residents to protect themselves by learning to recognize fraud. Visit the following sites for information and helpful tips:
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, www.antifraudcentre.ca
The Competition Bureau’s Information Centre, www.competitionbureau.gc.ca
Office of Consumer Affairs, www.consumerhandbook.ca
Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus, www.ccbbb.ca
Canada Revenue Agency, www.cra-arc.gc.ca
