Members of the Financial Crimes Unit are warning members of the public during this holiday season, to be mindful of a current distraction fraud occurring within the Clarington area.
Victims are being approached within busy retail parking lots by an unknown suspect, asking to borrow their bank card to pay a ‘taxi’ for a $10 fare, in exchange for a 10-dollar bill. The victim agrees, and proceeds to insert their bank card and personal identification number into a Point of Sale machine, given to them by a second suspect, who is introduced to the victim as the ‘taxi’ driver, police said.
The suspect driver then swaps out their bank card for another bank card that does not belong to the victim. The fraudulent Point of Sale machine captures the victim’s pin number and the suspects then use the stolen card, to withdraw cash or make purchases.
Police are reminding shoppers to:
- Be aware of their surroundings
- Do not give out personal information or your bank cards to strangers
- Do not give in to pressure or guilt tactics used by fraudsters
If you have been victimized by a fraud of this nature, please contact your local police to file a report. For more information, you can reach out to Cst. Hall of the DRPS Financial Crimes Unit at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 5356.