The Laval Police Service (SPL) recently arrested a minor suspect in connection with around thirty false representative fraud cases since March.
Although his identity cannot be disclosed given his young age, investigators believe that he could have had other victims and invite the public to provide them with any useful and relevant information related to this fraudulent scheme.
Investigators from the General Crimes squad have identified a similar scheme mainly targeting elderly people.
Mode of operation
A first suspect first makes contact with the victims, by telephone, on their residential line.
He poses as a representative of a financial institution. He then claims that they were victims of bank card fraud.
After gaining their trust, he asks them to place their cards in an envelope and write the personal identification number (PIN) on the back.
He then tells them that a courier will pick up their cards at their residence.
Once recovered, the cards are used to commit fraud at bank counters as well as in businesses.
The names “Simon Cloutier” and “Simon Blais” would have been used to identify the courier who was to travel to the victims.
New element
A new feature recently alerted SPL investigators.
In some cases, the courier calls the victims back so that they can speak directly with a real representative of their financial institution in order to reactivate their card which has been blocked for suspicion of fraud.
Everything would have been carried out within the framework of a conference call with several parties.
Safety tips
Never give personal information to a stranger, including personal information such as bank or credit card numbers.
No financial or government institution communicates by email, telephone or text messages directly to request personal data.
If in doubt, people are asked to contact their institution confidentially themselves using the official numbers.
No representative of a financial institution or courier goes directly to an individual to collect bank cards accompanied by personal information.
No institution asks to pay overdue accounts with gift cards or cryptocurrency.
Other informations
It is possible to check with transUnion and Equifax whether requests for credit or account openings have been made without the consent of the person holding these accounts.
It is possible that the suspect could have been active and may have caused other victims in the Greater Montreal area.
Investigators invite victims and witnesses who do not reside in Laval territory to contact their respective police services in order to file a complaint or transmit information.
Anyone who may have been a victim of fraud or who has information can contact the SPL info line confidentially at 450 662-INFO (4636) or dial 911 and mention file LVL-240410-054. (B.L.)
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