A North Perth woman is out 21-thousand dollars after being scammed while trying to start up a small business.

Perth County OPP say the woman searched the internet for help to start an online business. She found what appeared to be a legitimate online company that promised to make her business successful. She was required to pay a 5-thousand dollar initial fee.

Police say she then received calls from people purporting to work for the company and convinced her she required more credentials to get her business up and running.

After credit card payments totaling 21-thousand dollars and not hearing back from the company for over a month and half, she released it was a scam.

OPP wants to remind the public that, there are no shortcuts to wealth – the only people that make money are the scammers.