Stratford police are grateful for the quick thinking of a St. Marys grocery store cashier after she helped prevent an 89-year-old customer from falling victim to a phone scam.
Police said they were contacted shortly after 11 am on March 22 after the elderly St. Marys resident visited the store to purchase gift cards for an unknown caller. After asking her customer several questions, the cashier, Wanda Mossey, realized they were being scammed and tried to talk them out of making the purchase.
After the customer insisted on buying the gift cards, a Stratford police officer arrived to help with the situation. Together, the officer and staff were able to convince the customer the phone call she received was a scam and helped them put measures in place to prevent any further problems.
“The Stratford Police Service would like to extend thanks to the staff at Foodland in St. Marys for recognizing this situation and preventing a fraud from occurring,” Stratford police Const. Darren Fischer said in the press release. “Cashiers, as well as other retail employees, can play a powerful and important role in fraud prevention by engaging customers in conversation about their purchase and asking some very simple questions.
“Further to the staff at Foodland, we would like to thank all retail employees for playing a role in fraud prevention every day.”
North Perth resident loses more than $25,000 to fraud
Elsewhere in Perth County, provincial police are reminding residents to be wary of potential fraudsters after a North Perth resident lost more than $25,000 to a telephone scam.
The Perth County OPP said they launched a fraud investigation earlier this week after the resident reported they had fallen victim to a scam between Oct. 24, 2022, and Feb. 17, 2023.
Police say the victim received a phone call from a person who said they were an employee of Mega Millions Winners Circle. They told the victim they had won $4.2 million and a Mercedes car from a magazine they were subscribed to. The victim was told they would have to pay taxes on the winnings to receive payment. The scammer told the victim they would transfer money to their account to pay the taxes so the victim wouldn’t be out any money.
The investigation is ongoing.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, victims of fraud lost a staggering $530 million last year, representing a nearly 40 per cent increase over 2021. It is estimated only five to 10 per cent of victims report scams and frauds to the center or law enforcement.
If you fall victim to a fraud of know someone who has, contact your local police service to report the crime and report it to the center at 1-888-495-8591 or online on the Fraud Reporting System, even if a financial loss did not occur.