Internet Scam Lures Canadians
London,Canada
More than 10 Londoners have been burned in an intricate Internet-based scam some of them losing up to $2500.
The victims have called London police in the last 24 hours after being taken in by the scheme in which they had hoped they'd earn up to $100 an hour working as, in some cases, secret shoppers. (continued)...
"If it seems too good to be true, it probably is", Const. Amy Phillipo said yesterday.
The scam works like this:
After the victims respond to the job ads, found online or in classified ads, they're asked to send a check for training to a fraudulent New York-based company called M. E. Services Group.
While the checks are being processed by the banks, the scam artists, using a surname the same as the victims, gets access to the account and try to transfer money from it.
Some banks in London caught on to the scam and contacted police.
Police advise people to stay away from transactions requiring cashing checks and forwarding money by wire transfer.
It's difficult to retrieve the money lost because wire transfers are virtually impossible to trace police said.
