Now this is is a rare thing. There’s a new phone scam in Canada which involves people asking for cash to buy teddy bears in the name of the OPP.
The scammers are using the fact that OPP officers do give teddy bears to kids in traumatic situations. So, they are calling people asking for money for a fake charity campaign, the EdmontonSun reports.
“While many OPP officers are involved in worthy charities on their personal time, the OPP is advising the public that it does not solicit funds from members of the public for its Community Bear Program or any other OPP program,” the force warned Tuesday.
“The OPP is reminding people to verify the legitimacy of any organization that calls to solicit funds from the public.” Aggressive or fraudulent fundraising can also be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or through their website at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
So far it’s not known if someone has given the scammers money and how much. If you do want to help the OPP, you can always just bring them teddy bears or organize a drive for them as you just call them beforehand.
