Lambton OPP are advising the public to be extra cautious, after a recent fraud report involving Apple gift cards and a lottery scam.
The incident resulted in a local resident losing $13,000.
On the morning of March 17, Lambton OPP were contacted about a fraud complaint.
The victim was told by someone they had won a vehicle, but in order to claim the prize, the resident was required to make a payment using Apple gift cards.
The victim complied, but no prize was received following communication with the suspect.
Police are reminding the public to remain vigilant when receiving unsolicited communications. Fraudsters often ask for personal information including name, date of birth, address, banking information or Social Insurance Number.
If you receive these requests, you're encouraged to not provide any personal or financial information, do not send money or gift cards, ignore the message or hang up and block the phone number or sender.
Warning sings of fraud include messages or calls at unusual hours, requests that create urgency or grammatical errors or suspicious links and attachments.
If you believe you have been a victim of fraud, contact your local police service and report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at www.antifraudcentre.ca.
***This story was written by Evan Frederiksen. Evan is a student in the Fanshawe College journalism program, and is currently doing an internship with SarniaNewsToday.ca
