Bank scam takes thousands from victims in Grenville County

Police are warning the public about a new telephone scam after two victims in Grenville County, a rural community south of Ottawa, lost thousands of dollars.

Ontario Provincial Police said the victims received a phone call from someone posing as a bank employee. The scammer tells the victims their account has fraudulent charges and asks them to help identify a "bad employee" at the bank.

The caller asks the victim to visit different stores to buy gift cards and report to them the numbers on the back of the cards, which they claim will somehow help pinpoint the bad employee and make the victim eligible for a payment.

"It's very convoluted and I think they confuse the victims who genuinely believe it's their bank," said Const. Annie Collins with the Ontario Provincial Police.

She said the scam is concerning and potentially costly. One victim alone lost $10,000, she said. One of the two victims is from Merrickville, Ont., while the other was from Kemptville, Ont., both in the Grenville County area.

The caller is usually very aggressive, will call multiple times and even refer victims to a scam website, Collins said.

Police are asking the public to not give out personal financial details or information over the phone and to contact banks directly if there are any concerns.