Stolen van recovered in Vaughn

The Huntsville OPP are investigating the theft of a Bell Canada van, trailer and two ATVs.

Sometime overnight on Thursday, March 13, unknown culprits entered the Bell Canada yard on High Street in Huntsville. The company’s work van was parked in the rear yard with a trailer attached. The trailer also had two ATVs on it. The van contained tools, ladders and a generator.  

During the afternoon on March 14, the York Regional police notified the Huntsville OPP detachment that they had located the Bell Canada van with all of the equipment and the trailer in the city of Vaughn. The two 2004 Suzuki Eiger ATVs are still missing.  

Anyone with any information about this or any other theft is asked to contact the Huntsville OPP at 789-5551 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-222-TIPS.

March is Fraud Prevention Month

Cross-border telemarketing schemes remain one of the most pervasive forms of white-collar crime in North America.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre (CAFCC), formerly known as PhoneBusters, estimates that every day there are between 500 to 1,000 criminal telemarketing boiler rooms operating in Canada, grossing approximately $1 billion a year.  

The biggest  trend in mass marketing fraud is the use of counterfeit or altered financial documents, such as cheques, bank drafts or money orders. In March and April 2007, nearly 30 per cent of all complaints received at the CAFCC involved the use of counterfeit financial documents.  

Mass-marketing fraud is conducted over the telephone, although there are many means of contacting potential victims like through mail and the Internet. Everyone is vulnerable to mass-marketing fraud, but most often seniors are targeted.

Common types of mass-marketing fraud include advanced fee loans, employment job evaluations, and overpayment/counterfeit cheque scams, fraudulent prize and lottery schemes, fraudulent loan offers, secret shopper scams and fraudulent offers of low-interest credit cards or credit-card protection.

The most effective way to avoid becoming a victim is to be informed. Be your own detective and research the company or individual and what they are offering before agreeing to anything. Call a relative or friend and discuss plans before you make any decisions that will put you in financial jeopardy.  

For information on the types of schemes involved with mass-marketing visit www.phonebusters.com or www.ontario.ca/consumerprotection.

As part of Fraud Prevention Month, the OPP Anti-Rackets Section and the Health Fraud Investigation Unit is stressing the importance for Ontarians to protect their identity documents, particularly Ontario Health Cards.

The Ontario Health Card contains important information about the cardholder and should only be used when the cardholder is accessing a medical service at a clinic, hospital or doctor’s office.  

Fraudsters frequently use the telephone to access information about others, for the purpose of committing fraud-related crimes. You should never give out personal information to others over the phone or Internet unless you trust the source, and you should never should you give out your health card number over the phone.

Criminals have been known to steal health cards to access medical services to which they are not entitled or to create a new identity to commit other frauds.

If you believe that someone has accessed your personal information for the purpose of identity theft, contact your local police or call 1-888-495-8501.