Fraudster takes Guelph senior’s bank cards, spends thousands

A stock photo of credit cards on a table. (pexels.com/@pixabay)

Police believe a man from Brampton may be connected to scams reported across the province after he was arrested for a similar scheme in Guelph.

On July 23, a Guelph man in his 80s reached out to police. He said he received a call from a man who claimed to be a representative from the Bank of Montreal. The suspect told the senior his banking cards had been compromised, and arranged for someone to stop by and pick them up so they could be destroyed.

Later that same day, the senior handed his cards over to a stranger. Those cards were later used to make more than $5,000 worth of purchases.

A multi-jurisdictional investigation led to the arrest of a 26-year-old Brampton man on Wednesday. He was charged with two counts of fraud under $5,000 and unauthorized use of a credit card.