Police are reminding people to be wary of online scams after a Perth East resident lost a large sum of money.
Perth County OPP say that a Perth East resident was recently defrauded $6,500 US by investing in cryptocurrency with an online cryptocurrency investment company. At this time, the victim is not able to retrieve their money from the investments. Police say on top of being mindful of your financial and credit card information, you should always refrain from giving out personal information to someone you don't know. If someone calls or emails you and identifies themselves as a bank representative, hang up and call your local branch to verify the call is legitimate.
To learn about ways to protect yourself from scams and frauds, the OPP encourages community members to stay educated on fraud prevention. The "Little Black Book of Scams" can be found at this link: https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/03074.html.
If you are the recipient of a fraudulent call, text or email, or if you've been a victim of a fraud, you are encouraged to report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by calling 1-800-495-8501 or visit http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.