DRUMMONDVILLE, QUE. -- Police in Quebec are warning the public to be cautious of scam phone calls where the caller uses the COVID-19 crisis to rob their victims.
MRC Drummond Surete du Quebec (SQ) police in the Centre-du-Quebec region reported several recent telephone fraud cases where citizens said they were called from a person claiming to work for the Desjardins Group and telling them that they had been victims of fraud.
During the telephone conversation, the suspicious person was able to obtain bank card personal identification numbers (PIN) as well as other information on the pretext that they had the obligation to provide them by telephone due to the pandemic health crisis regulations.
In at least one case, a man disguised as a postman later showed up at the victim's residence to collect the bank cards and make withdrawals thereafter.
Authorities report that regardless of the pretext, it is important to never give out personal information over the phone to strangers.
For more information on fraud as well as prevention tips, citizens are invited to visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2020.
