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Watch out for fraudsters asking for debit and credit cards, SQ warns

Thieves posing as representatives of banks or government bodies have stolen thousands of dollars from Quebecers' bank accounts, the force said.

MONTREAL, QUE.: MAY 10, 2018 -- Surete du Quebec flag at the entrance of the SQ headquarters on Parthenais av in Montreal on Thursday May 10, 2018. (Pierre Obendrauf / MONTREAL GAZETTE) ORG XMIT: 60647 - 6582
Photo by Pierre Obendrauf /Montreal Gazette

The Sûreté du Québec is asking Quebecers to remain vigilant amid an increase in cases of fraud involving requests for credit and debit cards by people posing as representatives of banks or government bodies.

“They’ll ask the targeted person to put the card in an envelope with the information related to the card, such as the ID number, and then someone will show up to the residence to pick up the card,” SQ Sgt. Jean Raphaël Drolet says in a YouTube video the force hopes will be shared widely online.

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Victims of the scam have had hundreds or even thousands of dollars stolen out of their bank accounts, Drolet says.

Cases have been observed all over the province, but have differed slightly from region to region. In some cases, fraudsters have shown up to the residence themselves. In others, they have sent delivery services or taxi drivers to pick up the envelopes.

Fraudsters have posed as representatives from banks or from government bodies, such as police officers, “but the intended goal is the same: to take a debit card or credit card to then have access to the bank account of the person,” Drolet says.

“It goes without saying that financial institutions and government agencies do not operate in this way,” the SQ said in a statement.

The force is asking those who are targeted to hang up the phone immediately. Those who have had money stolen are being asked to communicate with their local police department, and those who have been targeted but did not provide any personal information are encouraged to report the situation to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

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