Archive

Police News: Senior scammed for $20,000 – OPS

March 31, 2016   ·   0 Comments

The Orangeville Police Service is investigating a reported fraud that resulted in a local victim  being scammed out of more than $20,000.

On Monday, March 21, an 85-year-old Orangeville resident received a letter in the mail  purported to be from Publisher’s Clearing House.  Accompanying the letter was a cheque in the  amount of $15,962.86.

The letter advised the victim that $600,000 (US) had been won and  was waiting to be claimed.  The victim was instructed to contact the prize claim centre  immediately and was then given further instructions from a person claiming to be an agent for  the company.

On March 22, the victim complied with instructions to deposit the $15,962.86  cheque at the victim’s bank and then transfer $10,000 to another account at another financial  institution.  The victim was then instructed to make additional deposits to other accounts.  The  victim ended up forwarding another $12,815, for a total of $22,815.  On March 29, the victim was  advised that the original cheque for $15,962.86 was found to be counterfeit.    Police are continuing their investigation regarding this fraud.

“Residents are reminded that these kinds of frauds can be avoided by using a common  sense approach,” the OPS said in a release. “You should be suspicious of any unsolicited correspondence advising of  financial winnings.  Legitimate lotteries will not ask a winner to pay any fees up-front to receive a  prize.

Verify the legitimacy of such claims with family members, your own trusted financial  institution or by calling the police.

“Family members are also encouraged to speak with loved ones about how to deal with these types of situations if they are targeted!  Remember, if  something sounds or appears to be too good to be true, it is likely to be a scam!”For further information regarding frauds and scams contact the Orangeville Police Service 519-  941-2522 extension 2221 or visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: www.antifraudcentre.ca     

Anyone having information with regard to this incident is encouraged to call the Orangeville  Police Service at 519-941-2522 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at w

Charges laid after driver flees crash scene 

On Tuesday night, shortly before midnight, officers from the Caledon Detachment of the OPP went to a damaged motor vehicle on King Street between Heritage Road and Mississauga Road.  On arriving the officers found extensive damage on the Dodge Challenger but were unable to locate the occupants of the vehicle, who had left the scene prior to their arrival.

After receiving information from the public, police subsequently located the uninjured driver and passenger of the vehicle at a nearby residence. Following an investigation, it was determined that the driver had consumed alcohol prior to the collision and a breath sample was demanded. The male driver failed to provide a suitable sample of his breath to determine the concentration, if any, alcohol in his blood.

As a result of the investigation, a 22 year-old man from Oakville was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle,failing to stop at the scene of an accident and failure to provide a breath sample. He was given a 90-day Administrative Drivers’ Licence Suspension and his motor vehicle was impounded for seven days.

The accused was released and he is scheduled to make a first appearance at the Ontario Court of Justice in Orangeville on April 28.

OPP investigates copper wire theft in Melancthon

Last Saturday, March 19, at 8:45 a.m., Dufferin OPP responded to a break-in involving theft of copper cable at a wind farm site located on 300 Sideroad in Melancthon township.

Preliminary Investigation revealed that the thief or thieves entered the site between 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday morning and stole 700 feet of copper cable with a value of approximately $20,000.  In addition, approximately $30,000 of damage was done to the wind turbine and its site.

If any person has any information about this incident they are asked to contact Provincial Cst. Sheldon Oram at Dufferin OPP via OPP Com-Centre at 1-888-310-1122.

Easter Weekend initiative

From Friday, March 25 to Monday, March 28, members of the Dufferin OPP detachment took part in a province-wide Traffic Safety Initiative.

Officers focused their attention on seat belts as well as the other “Big 4” causes of collisions: speeding, impaired driving, and distracted driving.

The results in Dufferin County, in terms of tickets issued, were as follows:

Speeding 31; moving violations 14; commercial motor vehicles 6, racing 1. There were no tickets issued for improper use of seat belts, distracted driving or impaired driving.

“Members committed 27 hours to this initiative,” the detachment said in a release. “This was also while responding to more than 73 calls for service, including over 13 collisions involving this weekend’s ice storm with several trees and hydro lines down.”

OPS customer service training 

The Orangeville Police Service will be providing customer service training to all its staff members in the coming weeks. As a result of feedback from members of the public through a recent survey, the OPS has begun an internal training component for all staff members pertaining to customer

service. The service hosted a one-day “train the trainer” workshop in mid-February. The workshop was attended by officers representing several police services throughout Ontario. The focus of the training is to instill the importance of good communication and relationship building skills between police service members and the public.

“The need for a high level of customer service in policing is crucial”, said Chief Wayne Kalinski. “We are in the business of providing public safety to our community and like

any other business, customer service is what sets us apart from other service providers”.

Higher standards in customer service delivery coincide with the services new mission statement and values as outlined in the 2016 – 2018 Business Plan unveiled earlier this year. The Orangeville Police Service is a community focused team committed to providing the highest quality of policing to the citizens of Orangeville through professionalism, integrity and accountability.

The service will measure the success of the customer service training initiative through future surveys, social media and general feedback from the community.


Readers Comments (0)





Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.