Police are warning the public to beware a so-called “black money” scam after a Toronto resident was duped out of nearly half a million dollars.
Detectives are alerting Torontonians because they believe there may be additional victims, and they want to hear from anyone who was approached by the suspects.
So far, police have arrested one man, but they are looking for at least four others.
The scam involves bundles of banknote-sized paper coated with a dark substance or dye, giving the scheme its "black money" name.
To find potential victims, the suspects respond to advertisements or send unsolicited emails or online messages to people.
“If anyone says that they’ve got to hide money or cover money, you should definitely stay away from it,” said Det. Alan Spratt, a member of the Toronto Police Service’s financial crimes unit. “Something illegal is going on.”
The suspects gain their victims’ trust through a proposed transaction and fool them into believing the paper is stacks of bills that are disguised so they can be smuggled into the country. The suspects tell their victims to fork over their own cash to cover costs for cleaning that never takes place, Spratt said.
Once a person is hooked, the suspects usually ask for more cash to cover shipments, accounting fees or other things that will not occur or do not exist, Spratt said at a news conference Monday.
To make the scam seem like a legitimate venture, the suspects present documents for their victims to sign.
After that, the suspects try to disappear with a victim’s money.
In a recent case, the Toronto resident was contacted by the suspects last October after he or she advertised a commercial property for sale.
The suspects, posing as interested buyers, befriended the victim and claimed they would pay for the property with a large sum of money that was coming in from South Africa.
Because the money was coated in a substance, it had to be cleaned with expensive chemicals, they claimed.
The suspects told the victim to pay for the cleaning costs, and they promised to hand over more money when the real estate sale was finalized.
By the time the victim caught on, he or she was bilked out of about $450,000, police said.
At the news conference, Spratt displayed the fake bills, a bag of powder used to coat the paper, a mask, gloves and other objects.
In his warning to the public, Spratt said people involved in these schemes are clever and devious, and they are good at building rapports with their victims.
The use of props such as powder and would-be chemicals makes the scam seem legitimate, and victims who have handed over money for cleaning usually have a difficult time getting out before they lose more money, Spratt said.
“What I have noticed in these types of scams is the victims are fooled before the (cleaning) kit comes out,” Spratt told reporters.
Meanwhile, police are hoping to hear from anyone who was contacted by a suspect who was arrested April 9 in connection with the recent case in Toronto.
Herman Fankem, 32, of Montreal was charged with one count of fraud over $5,000.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-7300 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
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