The South Bruce Ontario Provincial Police is asking residents to watch out for scams after 2 reports of successful scams in the Municipality of Kincardine. Both of the scams involved a phone call from a "lawyer" wanting gift cards to pay fines incurred by car accidents. Unfortunately, both scams were successful and the scammer netted more than $10,000 from those 2 calls.

Modern, tech-savvy scammers have the ability to create very convincing scams. They won't hesitate to use the name of a legitimate company in an effort to gain your trust and trick you into paying them.

Always be cautious with unsolicited email, phone calls, letters, even visitors at your door. Unsolicited means that you didn't ask for it. Always be certain who you are dealing with before you ever consider sending money or sharing personal information.

There is no magic to prevent fraud. If it seems too good to be true it likely is and you can't win a lottery or contest that you didn't enter in the first place. You work hard for your money, so work just as hard to protect it. Don't pay the con artist.

Anyone interested in more information on fraud can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1 888 495 8501 or check online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/.

The South Bruce OPP is requesting anyone with information that can assist police to call 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

source: media release, South Bruce OPP