Police seek third suspect in credit card fraud

Police seek third suspect in credit card fraud

Posted on 8/31/2015 2:36:00 PM by Alison Sandor

Ottawa Police are searching for a third suspect in connection with a case of credit card fraud.

Police say three suspects were using stolen credit cards to make over $9,000 worth of purchases within the ByWard Market and Rideau Centre area.

The woman is described as white with tanned skin, between 35 and 45 years old, with long, dark-coloured hair. She was wearing a light-coloured ball cap, sunglasses, a white t-shirt and shorts.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

http://www.cfra.com/news/2015/08/31/police-seek-third-suspect-in-credit-card-fraud

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/public-servant-fired-after-government-discovers-5-phoney-resumes-1.3199508

Public servant fired after government discovers 5 phoney resumes

'Depth and breadth' of woman's job experience made managers suspicious, internal note says

The Canadian Press Posted: Aug 21, 2015 2:06 PM ET Last Updated: Aug 21, 2015 3:24 PM ET

A woman was fired after government officials discovered she had submitted five resumes with phoney experience, according to a document obtained by The Canadian Press. (Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images) 

A federal worker lost her job earlier this year for fudging her resume in five different applications for various jobs in the public service.
An internal government briefing note says the employee "provided false information" about her credentials on five applications and misrepresented her work experience on three of those applications.

The briefing note to the deputy minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada says managers became suspicious after noticing some irregularities in the woman's job applications, specifically "the depth and breadth" of her job experience before and after she joined the department. The briefing note says her work history "appeared contradictory."
The bureaucrat's name, the details of the investigation and what jobs she held were redacted from an April 17, 2015 briefing note, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
The Public Service Commission, which acts as a watchdog over hiring in the public service, decided the employee should lose her job.
If the woman seeks full-time employment in the federal government in the next three years, she'll need the commission's approval first.
If she lands a part-time job or finds work through one of the government's student programs, the commission plans to send her supervisor a letter outlining the findings of their fraud investigation.
The incident is one of a small number of fraud cases the federal public service deals with on an annual basis.
There were 79 allegations of fraud in the 2013-2014 fiscal year out of 72,000 hires and job changes. The Public Service Commission noted in its most recent annual report that fraud continued "to be of concern."
Fraud cases include falsifying documents such as diplomas, misrepresentation of work experience, education or professional credentials, cheating during tests and not disclosing a personal relationship with someone involved in making a hiring decision.
In the last 14 months, the commission says it has completed 94 fraud investigations, including investigations that were opened before April 2014. Of those investigations completed, 66 were founded and 28 unfounded.
The commission says it still has 49 investigations ongoing.

 

Ottawa police warn of fraudulent duct-cleaning scheme 

By Corey Larocque, Ottawa Sun

First posted: Monday, August 17, 2015 01:07 PM EDT | Updated: Monday, August 17, 2015 01:12 PM EDT

Homeowners should ensure they see proper identification from any contractor coming into their house, Ottawa police say.
Cops warned residents Monday of a fraudulent duct-cleaning scheme recently perpetrated by people pretending to represent a legitimate company. Unknown suspects are misrepresenting Advanced Air Quality Duct Cleaning by soliciting clients over the phone, making a house call, but not actually doing any work, a police report states.

 After booking an appointment, they visit a home in unmarked vehicles and they have no business identification, police say. Workers go to the basement, don’t do any work, but then collect money from the homeowner.

The owner of the legitimate company told police he became aware of the scam when clients contacted him with complaints, but there’s no record of his company having made a call to their home.
Ottawa Police remind residents to ensure anyone entering their home to do work shows proper business identification before entering.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/08/17/ottawa-police-warn-of-fraudulent-duct-cleaning-scheme

New scam coming to Capital targeting elderly Chinese women

http://www.cfra.com/news/2015/08/14/new-scam-coming-to-capital-targeting-elderly-chinese-women

New scam coming to Capital targeting elderly Chinese women

Posted on 8/14/2015 10:55:00 AM by Mai Habib

Ottawa Police are warning the public about a new scam heading to the Capital.
The "Blessing Scam" or the "Chinese Evil Spirits Scam" appears to target elderly Chinese women.
The premise of the scam is that multiple suspects claim to be doctors and can help cleanse the victims of evil spirits.
The victim is then instructed to bring valuables such as gold, jewelry and cash in a bag to the suspects, which are then turned over for a "blessing."
The victim's bag is returned, empty.
Police say this appears to be a well organized plot.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ottawa Police Organized Fraud Section at 613-236-1222 ext. 5433.

Victim swindled out of $11K in jewellery by online Kijiji scam

Suspects posed as Sunglass Hut owners, say police

CBC News Posted: Jul 16, 2015 3:19 PM ET Last Updated: Jul 16, 2015 3:19 PM ET 

An image of one of three suspects wanted for allegedly swindling someone out of $11,000 in jewellery in May. (MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais)  

West Quebec police are looking for three people who allegedly used the online classifieds website Kijiji to swindle someone out of more than $11,000 in jewellery.
In early May, a man and a woman used Kijiji to arrange a meeting with the victim to view the jewellery, the MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais said Thursday.
They allegedly told the victim that they owned several Sunglass Hut franchises between Cornwall and Montreal, police said, and would have to discuss the jewellery purchase with their "business partner" first.

Issued fake bank draft

Two days later, they allegedly struck an agreement that would include an initial bank deposit of $200, followed by the handover of a bank draft of $11,300 in exchange for the jewellery, said police.
Soon after the exchange was completed with the business partner on May 24, the victim's bank realized the draft was fake, police said.
Police described the original couple as:

• a possibly Italian man approximately 35 years old, around 6'1 (185 cm) tall with black hair and no glasses, who identified himself as "Christopher" and spoke both French and English;
• an unidentified woman, also about 35 years old, around 5'2 (157 cm) tall with black hair below her shoulders, false eyelashes, wide hips and a broad chest. She also spoke both French and English.

They drove a rusted, dark-coloured, older model SUV, licensed in Ontario but with no front plate, police said.
The "business partner" is described a possibly Italian man about 40 years old, around 5'10 (178 cm) tall with a slim build and black hair. He spoke both French and English and identified himself as "Christiano," police said.
Anyone with information can contact directly Sgt.-Det. Julie Bouthillier at 819-459-2422, extension 3244, or the "Info des Collines" line at 1-844-477-2529.

Ottawa daycare provider defrauded in 'overpayment scam'

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CTV Ottawa
Published Friday, June 12, 2015 5:29PM EDT
Last Updated Friday, June 12, 2015 6:56PM EDT

Carmen Coll was looking to make some extra money over the summer, and recently posted an ad on Kijiji offering her daycare services.
A man, sent her a few emails, even photos of him with his son, and told a story of being a single father to the boy.
The man claimed to be away on vacation in Mexico, but wanted to send Coll some cash to secure the daycare spot. A week later a cheque arrived in the mail.

Photos

Carmen Coll was defrauded after recently posting an ad on Kijiji offering her daycare services.

The cheque was for much more than Coll's fees. A mistake, he explained, could she wire him the difference.
After sending the money back through Western Union, Coll learned his cheque had been a counterfeit.
“We went on-line to check our accounts and it’s all negative,” says Coll. “I couldn't use my card, our account is frozen and they won't unfreeze it until we pay the money back.”
Sgt. Jamie Ritchie, with the Ottawa Police Fraud Section, says to avoid becoming a victim of an overpayment scam, “Don't send money to someone when you don't know who it is at the other end.”
Ottawa Police say overpayment scams are so common they get cases reported daily.

I've wanted to create this blog for a while, ever since my college instructor asked me to help with his a while back.  He is a certified fraud examiner (CFE) so I was always forwarding him articles that I had found.  I could never figure out how we could both update his blog, so I figure now is the time to start posting about fraud on my own, because he's been sick for a while and hasn't been posting.  These are just items from the local news.  When you pay attention, it is a real eye opener how often these crimes occur.

Fake monks seeking donations in downtown Ottawa are a 'fraud'

Accepting money outside of temple defies Buddhism, experts say

CBC News Posted: Jun 25, 2015 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Jun 25, 2015 7:20 AM ET

A Buddhist in Ottawa says men dressed as Buddhist monks are fraudulently accepting money from people downtown.
Taking money on the streets is not part of the Buddhist religion, Andre Vellino, a practising Buddhist who teaches meditation at the University of Ottawa, said about the men, seen at bus stops and along the streets, and dressed in brown robes with shaved heads.

• Fake monks focus of police crackdown near Union Station

"It's as easy a fraud as you can to detect," said Vellino.
"If you give them money and they accept, then they are not monks."
CBC News spotted one of these robed men accepting money in exchange for a trinket at a bus stop at Slater and O'Connor streets. The woman who gave the man money said he did not speak during the exchange.

The man dressed in a brown robe accepted money from the woman dressed in black in downtown Ottawa. The woman said the man did not speak during the exchange. (CBC)

Ottawa police have not received any complaints about the men as it is not illegal unless they become aggressive.
Earlier this month, Toronto police vowed to crack down on the practice after they received complaints about similar men on Front Street near Union Station who were aggressive.
Hot-dog vendor Terry Scanlon said he has seen the men with notebooks, and some people have told Scanlon the men have accepted up to $20.
Buddhists have told CBC News that real monks only accept donations inside the temple.