Guelph senior scammed by supposed company representative over the phone

A Guelph senior has lost thousands of dollars in a fraud that began with her simply looking for help with a bill.

Guelph Police got a call Monday from the victim, in her 70s, who said she was looking for help with a billing problem for a streaming service.

She spoke on the phone with someone she thought was a representative of the company involved.

He told the victim he would be happy to give her a $120 reimbursement if the victim would give him access to her computer.

She said yes, but her chequing account went up not by $120, but by $12,000.

The supposed rep told her he’d made a mistake with the decimal point, and could the victim please send him the money back as a repayment.

She made withdrawals over the next two days to do just that, mailing funds to an address in Barrie.

Police say it was too late when the victim realized the $12,000 had been transfered to her chequing account from her own savings account.

Police remind everyone to always be careful speaking on the phone or online with someone you don’t know who is sending you financial instructions.

And they recommend always asking advice from a family member, coworker, trusted friend, or Guelph Police themselves.