Bank card fraud scheme targets seniors, five arrested: Quebec police

A joint police operation in Quebec resulted in five arrests in LaSalle and Laval, which were allegedly connected to a "false representative" fraud scheme.

Quebec provincial police (SQ) say that officers in Laval and Montreal launched an operation in 2021 targetting suspects who call seniors at home "pretending to be a representative of a financial institution" in an attempt to access their bank accounts.

"To remedy the situation, the victim is asked to hand over her bank cards and his or her personal identification number (PIN) to the bogus representative," the SQ said in a news release. "An accomplice arrives to the victim's home to collect the cards. Some fraudsters go to a banking institution to withdraw money from bank accounts, while others make various purchases."

Police are reminding the public not to give out banking information on the phone, hang up on callers and call the financial institution directly, and never give a bank or credit card to someone who arrives at your door.

"This is not how financial institutions operate," the SQ added.

The five arrested suspects will appear in court soon on fraud charges.