Scammers are apparently on the loose again in Guelph, impersonating people and asking others to buy gift cards on their behalf.
Police have received a pair of reports recently, with one of the two people becoming a victim.
On Oct. 23 a local woman received an email from someone posing as her boss. The email stated that her boss was looking to surprise staff members with gifts and asked the woman to purchase eight $100 Amazon gift cards, scratch the backs of the cards and reply with pictures of the numbers on the back of the cards. She was told that she would be reimbursed for the cost. She was also instructed not to call her boss, and to only communicate over email, as her boss was busy with meetings.
The woman bought the cards. but instead of sending pictures of the card numbers to the scammer, she delivered the cards to her boss, at which point it was discovered that it was a scam and police were called.
Further investigation revealed that the emails were received from an email address not associated to the boss.
On Oct. 26 a similar scenario played out, this time successfully.
A local woman received an email from someone posing as the leader of her place of worship. The email stated that her place of worship was looking to surprise members with gifts. She was instructed to purchases $1,000 in eBay gift cards and email back the codes associated with the cards. She was told that she would be reimbursed for the cost. She was also instructed not to call the leader of her place of worship, and to only communicate over email, as they were busy with meetings.
The woman purchased the gift cards and emailed back the codes as requested.
She later emailed the leader of her place of worship directly, found out that they didn’t know anything about the gift cards and it was discovered that she was scammed. Police were called.
Further investigation revealed that the initial emails were received from an email address not associated to the leader of the religious establishment.
Police remind the public to be vigilant in protecting yourself from ongoing online scams. Recently, more sophisticated online scams have been reported where the scammers have taken the time to research the victim, and then pose as a person of authority in their life.
"We recommend that everyone be very cautious regarding online communication, especially when being requested to purchase gift cards or transfer funds. Please always double check that any online communication is coming from a recognized email address and take the time to speak with the person directly in order to verify any request," a police news release said.
