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Orangeville Police Service warns of accommodation scams

June 9, 2017   ·   0 Comments

The Orangeville Police Service is reminding residents to be vigilant when seeking accommodations through rental property-type websites, advising that one Orangeville woman recently lost approximately $2600 through one such fraud.

Last Friday, June 2, a 46-year-old Orangeville resident contacted police to report that she believed that she had been the victim of a fraud regarding an apartment that had been advertised, through what appeared to be a well-known company, for rent in Brampton.

She told police that on May 7 she contacted an individual by email to inquire about viewing the apartment in person. The individual advised that since he was located in the United Kingdom he couldn’t show her the apartment.

“The victim continued to correspond with the individual regarding the apartment and on May 25th the victim sent $1,300 through a money transfer service to the individual. On May 30th an additional $1,300 was sent again via money transfer. After the second transaction, the victim has been unable to communicate with the individual who she had sent the money to.”

As a result of the OPS investigation, it was determined that the communication was not from a reputable company, but had been made to look like it was. The suspect had directed the victim to use an off-site payment method – in this case a money transfer company – which violated the terms of use of the well-known company the victim believed she had been dealing with. (Information regarding payment options and procedures can be readily found on most reputable companies’ websites.)

“As with any type of online transaction, police encourage the public to take time to research the claims being made by people posting properties for rent or sale when the owners or agents claim to be from other countries,” the OPS said. “Research should be conducted prior to making any financial transactions. Google searches of names, email addresses and phone numbers given to you will often provide you with feedback alerting of scammers if there have been prior victims.”

Opioid drug information session

The Orangeville Police Service has partnered with concerned citizens and various community partners to offer education to the public regarding the growing concerns of opioid drugs in the area.

The opioid crisis in Ontario is a growing and evolving problem and communities like Orangeville are not immune to the problem. More than 400 Ontarians died from an opioid overdose in just the first six months of 2016. In Orangeville and area there have also been a handful of deaths associated to opioid drugs over the past year.

One such death, last September, was the catalyst for the need of education in the community about the perils of opioid drug use. A 22-year-old  man died as a result of an accidental overdose. His mother, Brigitte Krause, and good friend Ellie Ball, reached out to the OPS in March to seek support in educating the Orangeville community in the area of opioid drug awareness. Over the past several weeks, the police service has been working with the Dufferin Parent Support Network to assemble an educational presentation.

The result of the collaboration was a series of information sessions for students at Orangeville District Secondary School on Tuesday (June 6) and Westside Secondary School Wednesday. The presentations included speakers from the OPS, Dufferin County Ambulance Services and an Addiction Outreach Counsellor from Family Transition Place.

The same presentation was made to parents and other community members Tuesday night in the Westside school’s theatre.

Help sought to identify mischief

suspect

The Orangeville Police Service is asking for help from the public to identify a suspect who caused damage to the washrooms at a gas station and laundromat in early May.

On Wednesday, May 3, at approximately 6:00 p.m., a male attended the Esso Gas Station at 87 First Street and requested the key for the exterior washroom. After several minutes the man attended the washroom area of the neighbouring laundromat and then left the area. A store employee attended the washrooms a short time later and discovered damage had been caused to both areas.

The suspect is described as male, white, dark goatee, shaved head, and medium build. At the time of the incident he was wearing a dark grey hooded jacket and green/yellow/black stretched pants.

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