Senior loses hundreds of dollars, scammed over landline in Fergus

A senior in Fergus lost hundreds of dollars in a phone scam in which they were told to set their landline on the table, go buy gift cards, come back home, and read the numbers to the scammer on the other end of the line.

It happened Sunday, when the victim got a call in scam Wellington OPP said was “targeting senior citizens within the county via landline phones.”

A caller told the Fergus senior they would win a prize in a lottery if they bought a ticket over the phone using gift cards.

Police tell 570 NewsRadio the victim was told to set down the handset on their landline phone, and go to a store to buy gift cards, come back, and the caller would still be on the line so the victim could give them the numbers of the gift cards.

The victim was taken for $500, and got another lottery call the next day, asking for $2,000 in gift cards.

At that point, the senior hung up and called police.

The OPP remind everyone to hang up on any unsolicited caller asking you for personal information or payments by gift cards.

Police recommend reading The Little Black Book of Scams.

And anyone who gets a fraudulent call, text, or email, or has been victimized in a fraud is encouraged to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by calling 1-888-495-8501.