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Huron OPP is urging county citizens to stay vigilant against scammers following two recent cases that saw two residents scammed out of thousands of dollars.
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In the first case a victim reported losing $3,000 after purchasing gift cards and sending the scammer the authorization codes. She was tricked into believing her credit card had been credited in advance with $3,300. She was told there was an overpayment situation and was instructed to keep $300 for her troubles if she were to send them $3,000 back in the form of gift cards. The scammer even coached the victim what to say if she was questioned at the stores where she bought the cards.
In the second case the victim reported sending a scammer a total of $185,000 in bank drafts believing he was going to receive $2 million from a lottery win. The victim sent the scammers several installments with the belief a big pay day was coming his way that included millions of dollars, a luxury vehicle and a gold card.
The advance fee scam occurs when the victim pays money to someone in anticipation of receiving something of greater value, such as a loan, contract, investment, gift or lottery winnings and then receives little or nothing in return.
Police said savvy con artists can create convincing scams to trick you into giving them money. They can be convincing and pretend to work for an established, well-known business, or even a branch of the government. They will often have some basic…
