Sarnia police say a woman was taken for tens of thousands of dollars in an online scam.
Cst. John Sottosanti said earlier this year, a woman in her 40s started a relationship over a social media platform with a person overseas.
He says during the course of the relationship, the individual made a plea for financial help because of legal trouble and the need for a new passport since the old one had been seized.
"The victim, in this case, forwarded over $20,000 to this person via a local bank to an account belonging to the scammer," said Sottosanti. "Unfortunately this story continues and the suspect asks for even more money to help him through his financial woes. Again the victim transfers an even larger sum of money to a different local bank. It was later determined by the victim's bank that she had been scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars."
Cst. Sottosanti said the likelihood of identifying the suspect or recovering the money is extremely low.
He said unfortunately, police are seeing more incidents of fraud and scams locally.
Cst. Sottosanti recommended talking to family members and friends, young and old, to protect against falling victim to scammers.
"If you're contacted via social media, e-mail, text or phone for money out of the blue, the likelihood that it is a scam is extremely high and verify the source," he said. "If there seems to be an urgency for the money due to the allegation of going to prison or there is an aspect of life or death, again verify the source."
We are also reminded to never share our personal information or social insurance number.
If you're a victim and have lost money to a scam or your identity has been compromised, contact the Sarnia Police Service at 519-344-8861 or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.