An alert bank employee and a Guelph Police Service communicator worked together Monday to save a female from falling victim to fraud, police report.
Shortly before 1 p.m., police received a call from an employee of a bank on Woodlawn Road West near Woolwich Street. The caller indicated there was a distraught female in the branch saying she was being threatened and needed to withdraw $5,000 immediately. The female was on her cellphone with a male who claimed her bank account had been compromised and she needed to withdraw $5,000 or her accounts would be frozen, and that he would provide further direction once the cash was withdrawn.
The bank employee tried to convince the female it was a fraud, and contacted police for assistance. A police communicator spoke to the female and convinced her to hang up on the male and not withdraw the cash.
Officers attempted to call the suspect back but the phone number used was determined to be an untraceable Internet-based number.
The incident remains under investigation.
The Guelph Police Service reminds the public to be very cautious whenever you are speaking with someone you don’t know, especially online or over the phone. Please also seek advice from a family member, co-worker, trusted friend or the Guelph Police Service at 519-824-1212 before following through on instructions received from a person that you don’t know.
