Grey County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) remind residents to be aware of a scam known as an "over-payment" scam after a resident in the Municipality of Grey Highlands was scammed out of $1,150.54 on January 27, 2016.
The resident, who had posted his resume on Kijiji in the hopes of obtaining employment, was contacted by a party named "Riley Barter" who proposed that the victim work for him by posting job ads on the internet. The victim agreed and he received a cheque in the mail for $1,350.54 with instructions to deduct $200 from the total and send the remainder, via "MoneyGram", to a party named "Frantisek Goodison" in order to establish a credit card to commence his employment.
On February 3, 2016, the victim was alerted to the scam when his banking institution advised him that thecheque had been returned and $1,350.54 was taken from his account. The victim was unable to contact the scammer due to the fact all electronic communication was eliminated by the suspect.
Residents should be aware that there are different variations of "over-payment" scams. Typically, it is the type of fraud where the person receiving the cheque is actually owed money for goods sold. The seller receives a counterfeit cashier's cheque, personal cheque or corporate cheque from the "purchaser" in an amount in excess of the amount owed; is asked to deposit the cheque and wire the excess funds immediately back to the sender/purchaser or the purchaser's agent or shipper; and, the deposited cashier's cheque is subsequently returned as counterfeit and charged back to the seller's account.
Anyone selling goods should be suspicious of any cheque, especially if it is for more than the agreed selling price.
To protect yourself against this sort of scam, never agree to a deal in which the payer wishes to issue an amount for more than the agreed price and expects you to reimburse the balance.
The scammers use a variety of excuses to explain the overpayment, but any such excuse should be treated with the utmost suspicion.
FRAUD.....recognize it! Report it! Stop it!
Learn more ...... visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) or contact them toll free at 1-888-495-8501.
