International effort returns life savings to northern Ont. fraud victim

Quick action prevented an elderly person in northwestern Ontario from losing their life savings to a sophisticated online scam that originated in the United Kingdom. (File)

Quick action prevented an elderly person in northwestern Ontario from losing their life savings to a sophisticated online scam that originated in the United Kingdom.

Because the fraud was reported immediately, law enforcement agencies in Europe and North America were able “to intercept a fraudulent money transfer that drained their life savings,” Ontario Provincial Police said Friday.

The incident took place June 23. Rainy River OPP got a 911 call from the elderly victim, who said they had lost a lot of money. While not saying exactly how much was stolen, police said it was at least $100,000.

“Investigation revealed the victim had been deceived by a quasi-emergency tech support scam,” police said in a news release.

“Offenders, posing as the computer manufacturer’s official tech support, convinced the victim that they had been hacked and installed software on the computer allowing remote access.”

The fraudsters connected the victim with a fake law enforcement agency, who told them to move their money to a “safe account that the offenders had access to.”

“The victim attended a local bank, and wire transferred a six-digit quantity of money into a bank in the UK,” police said.

International effort

Rainy River OPP quickly contacted the northern anti-rackets branch and the Integrated Fraud Awareness and Response Initiative (IFARI) “began work to intercept the wire transfer.”

The IFARI contacted the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and international partner agencies, which included banks and foreign law enforcement partners.

“Early intervention meant that the wire transfer was able to be flagged as fraud, and it was intercepted before the offenders could access it,” police said.

“On July 10 … the money returned to the victim.”

Acting Det. Sgt. Ryan Welsh with the IFARI team said fraudsters rely on victims to stay silent.

“This case had a positive outcome because the victim acted quickly and reported the fraud,” Welsh said in the release.

“Minutes count and police must get to the money before it’s gone. This is why victims are frequently instructed not to tell anyone.”

The OPP’s IFARI branch is in charge of investigating “complex frauds, corruption and financial crimes,” police said.

They are a resource for police, municipalities and government ministries “facing complex financial investigations.”

“Fraud continues to evolve, affecting individuals and businesses across Canada,” the OPP said.

“Many of these crimes are committed by individuals who use deception, misrepresentation and manipulative tactics to exploit trust.”

Fraud cases can be reported to the OPP by calling 1-888-310-1122. For more information on fraud awareness or to report a fraud attempt, click here.