By Stephen Armah Quaye
A finding from an investigation has revealed that hundreds of Ghanaians receive cold calls from unsolicited persons claiming to upgrade services for persons with Ghana Cards or bank cards.
It was further revealed that these suspects are impersonating banking staff, phone or utility companies and targeting innocent workers and elderly people with Ghana cards and bank cards.
The suspects will either get the victim to agree to upgrade their current services or simply tell them their cards have expired and they will need to get new ones then the suspects will go ahead and obtain the victim’s banking information with the assurance of issuing them new cards.
After these unsolicited persons have obtained the victim’s identity information, they will then empty all of the victims accounts associated with the cards or make purchases utilizing the cards, therefore the need for all to stay alert.
The story is however not different in Toronto, Canada where many people have complained of receiving cold calls from unsolicited persons claiming to upgrade services or plead for financial support.
But what makes the difference is that all the financial institutions, security agencies including Toronto Police Service [TPS] have been made aware of this scam who has alerted the general public to avoid falling victim to these unsolicited fraudsters.
The Toronto Police Service has therefore cautioned “Torontonians” to be wary of any cold calls from unsolicited persons claiming to upgrade services, warning that, “banks will never ask you to place any bank cards or credit cards into envelopes and leave them unattended in their mailbox.”
They advised the public, “do not provide your banking information to anyone over the phone, never rush into making a decision and if possible, consult with a known financial planner or financial institution such as your home bank.”
To better stay safe, the TPS further advised all to contact their banks or utility providers to ensure they are the ones calling, using the number they have for them, not the number provided by the caller and if still in doubt, conduct a Google search for any scams or complaints associated with the company.
