The Belleville Police Service is reminding the public to be very suspicious of unsolicited telephone calls requesting money related to family members being arrested and held for bail.
The public is reminded that no one from a legitimate law enforcement agency or the courts would ever call and demand money for bail.
Belleville Police want to warn the public that these scammers will prey on people’s emotions. Belleville Police urge people to question anyone demanding money or personal information. If a person claims to be from a police service, you can call the service directly to confirm the situation.
The Belleville Police also would like to advise the public of another ongoing attempt to scam individuals looking to rent housing. Scammers will place an ad for a place that does not exist or is not for rent. In another similar circumstance a scammer posing as a landlord posts an ad for a real place with altered contact information. Ensure you perform a secondary search on the owner and listing. If you find the same ad listed
under a different name, that’s a clue it may be a scam. Never pay with cash, wire transfer or hard-to-trace equivalents such as Moneygram, Bitcoin, or MoneyPak. These forms of payment are impossible to track. You can use bank cheques or money orders or email money transfers, but only when you are certain of the legitimacy of your rental arrangement. Also, visit in person to confirm the unit exists and matches what was advertised before signing a lease or making any payments.
For more information on this or other scams and how to protect yourself, go to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
