Peterborough Police Warn Public of Recently-Surfacing Bank Scams

Over the past week, the Peterborough Police Service has been made aware of at least two bank scams that occurred within several days of each other.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Service.

In one case, the victim received what they believed to be a call from their bank, claiming their cards were compromised and that they would need to be sent to the bank. The victim was instructed to put the cards in an envelope and leave it on their porch for a courier. The envelope was picked up sometime between 9 p.m. on Friday and 5:30 a.m. on Sunday. 

The victim noticed fraudulent activity in their accounts, resulting in a loss of close to $17,000 lost.

A similar incident happened to another Peterborough resident on Wednesday. The victim received a text about possible credit card fraud. The charge was reversed and then the victim received a second text about fraudulent activity. The victim responded that it was not them. Shortly after, they received a phone call from someone claiming to be a fraud specialist at the bank. That person asked the victim a series of questions, sent them a series of texts with the bank logo and told the victim they needed to seize the card. The card, which had been cut in half, was picked up by a courier, resulting in a loss of about $3,000. 

The Peterborough Police are reminding residents that when it comes to fraud and scams, the most important message is to slow down and verify. Fraudsters rely on fear, urgency and confusion to pressure people into making quick decisions. 

If you receive phone calls or texts from your bank, make sure to verify the message is valid by calling the number on the back of the card, not the number in the text or phone call. 

Scam victims can contact police through the online reporting portal.

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