THUNDER BAY – Crimebeat – There are many different ways that scam artists try to separate innocent people from their money. The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service Criminal Intelligence Unit are alerting the public about a telephone scam. In the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, a report had been received by police in Eabametoong First Nation during the weekend of January 21 and 22, 2012.
It was reported that a caller acting on behalf of the Canadian Police Association was utilizing a sales pitch to ask for monetary donations to sponsor education materials in the range of $30.00 for local First Nation students.
Donations are requested along with the credit card information from the person they are calling. Further, if the person being called does not have a credit card, the caller will request mailing information to send a package about how to mail in cash donations.
The caller identification number may be displayed as 1-800-470-2193.
Anyone who receives telephone sales calls or mail packages from individuals requesting cash or credit card donations for community programs is at risk of being a victim of fraud and should report this activity to the local police detachment. Previous reports of the same type of telephone scam had been reported by the RCMP in Manitoba in 2009.
To check out reports of telephone scams, you can visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.