'We need protection': Victim of intricate fraud scams speaks out
CTV
One of many victims of an intricate Ontario fraud scheme is sharing his story in hopes of seeing change in the province.
One of many victims of an intricate Ontario fraud scheme is sharing his story in hopes of seeing change in the province.
Kitchener resident Ian Craig has seven Notice of Security Interests (NOSIs) on his property totalling more than $150,000.
A NOSI can be placed on a home without the homeowner’s knowledge, binding them to a contract they must pay before they can sell or refinance their home.
All the NOSIs on Craig’s home were put their by alleged scammers without his knowledge.
“It didn’t scare me, it just made me totally, totally angry that they could do this and get away with it,” Craig said.
Det. Adam Stover with the Waterloo Regional Police Service’s Organized Financial Crime Team said many of the scams they’re currently investigating stem from 2012 to 2018. During that time, door-to-door HVAC companies were locking seniors into contracts for items like air conditioners, furnaces or filters.
“It was a 10-year long contract, a 120-month lease, with high interest rates on it,” Stover explained. “That contract would then be taken and sold to a B Lender, so a different bank – not one of your main banks, but a B Lender.”
