Southwestern Ontario resident defrauded out of $320K in gold, cash

A Southwestern Ontario resident lost $320,000 in cash and gold in an online scam, provincial police say.

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A resident in the Township of Perth East, near Stratford, noticed a pop-up last month on their computer that directed them to call a number provided, citing a security breach, Perth OPP said Thursday.

The call-taker, who claimed to work for Microsoft, was given remote access to the caller’s computer after telling them their finances had been compromised, police said.

The caller was instructed to withdraw money from their bank, totaling $80,000, and buy more than $240,000 worth of 100-gram gold bars from an online company, police said.

The gold was delivered to the caller’s house by a delivery company and unknown suspects showed up to pick up the cash and gold on five separate occasions over two weeks, police said.

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The suspects are described as short Asian males, between 25 and 35, with short, dark hair. They drove a dark-colored Lexus sedan.

The scam comes after police in Southwestern Ontario revealed details this week of other frauds targeting region residents.

On Dec. 13, an 82-year-old Huron East resident received a phone call on Dec. 13 from someone claiming to be their grandson and asking for money, Huron OPP said.

The caller told the senior to get $6,500 cash and arranged for it to be picked up the next day, when a man arrived at the home and collected the money, police said. The suspect is described as a Black man, 20 to 35, driving a dark-colored car.

An Aylmer resident lost nearly $200,000 in a cryptocurrency fraud that began on social media, Aylmer police said this week.

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The person learned of an investment company on X, formerly Twitter, and began sending cryptocurrency. During the summer, the unidentified individual sent several payments, but “began to have suspicions but it was too late,” police said.

Police warn the public to be wary of fraudsters and never provide personal information or payments to anyone who makes contact through unsolicited calls or messages.

Anyone who suspects they have been the victim of a scam or attempted fraud should call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center at 1-888-495-8501.

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