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Woodstock police are warning so-called “sugar babies” – women or girls who provide companionship to an older man, known as a sugar daddy, in exchange for money or mentorship – to be vigilant after a teen was sent a fake cheque as part of a scam.
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The girl contacted her bank after receiving a suspicious digital cheque for $1,500, police said Monday.
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“The bank was able to confirm that it was a fraudulent cheque,” Const. Shaylyn Jackson said, adding the girl and scammer had met online, but not in person, as part of a sugar baby arrangement.
When the girl contacted the sender of the cheque, telling them not to communicate with her, the scammer threatened her and her family, police said.
“If there are other victims, we would love for them to . . . share their experience as we continue to investigate,” Jackson said. Woodstock police can be reached at (519) 537-2323.
Police warn parents to keep a close eye on their children’s online activities.
“We hope parents . . . continue working with their kids and having open conversations, because sometimes kids don’t like talking about this kind of stuff,” Jackson said.
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The warning follows similar cautions from Southwestern Ontario police to think twice before sharing intimate images with anyone they meet online with so-called “sextortion” scams on the rise.
Most recently, a Middlesex County 18-year-old paid $4,000 to a scammer who duped them into believing their cellphone had been hacked and had captured intimate images, then demanded money not to share the purported images with the teen’s friends and family, police said.
Sextortion fraudsters create fake profiles on dating and social media sites, trying to lure victims into performing sex acts on camera, police said.
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