Ottawa police are seeking help identifying four suspects involved in “bank investigator” scams in the central and west ends of the city.
Police released a series of photos on Friday of three men and one woman believed to be involved in a series of “similar but not necessarily related” scams targeting victims’ financial information, which occurred between April and September.
The first suspect is described by police as an Eastern African woman in her early 20s who was wearing a headdress at the time of the incident.
The second and third suspects are described as East Indian men in their mid-20s with slim builds and moustaches.
The fourth suspect is described as a Black man in his early 20s, unshaven and wearing a hooded sweatshirt, police said in a Friday news release.
Police said the suspects would phone victims claiming to be from a financial institution that had caught suspicious activities in a victim’s bank accounts.
The scammer would instruct the victims to cut up their debit or credit cards and provide them in an envelope for a courier to pick up at their residence. The victims stayed on the phone with the scammers until the courier picked up the cards, police said.
“The victims later noticed unfamiliar changes in their accounts,” police said in a news release.
This public appeal for information comes a day after police announced that
two men had been charged
with numerous fraud-related offences related to a
similar bank investigator scam
, which police said cost victims a total of $250,000.
Anyone who recognizes any of the people in the photos is asked to contact Detective Wahbeh of the Financial Crimes Section at 613-236-1222 ext. 5492. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or online at crimestoppers.ca.
