Be careful when shopping online - police

MONDAY, OCT. 22: As a result of recent on-line scamming reports, the Financial Crime Unit of the BPS would like to remind the public to remain vigilant in their dealings with vendors when shopping on the internet. The public are advised not to send a ‘wire transfers’ to overseas vendors for payment of goods you  have not seen or received.

Furthermore the public are advised to be wary of any vendor who utilizes a generic e-mail domain such as gmail.com, Hotmail.com or yahoo.com. Recent losses to the Bermuda public have related to the sale of heavily discounted ‘unlocked’ cellular phones and pets from overseas vendors.

The Unit would also like to take this opportunity to remind the public not to give personal information over the telephone. Reports have been received of Bermudians receiving ‘cold’ calls from overseas investment companies, inviting people to invest in their products. The callers are often aggressive and very persuasive and the calls may be directed towards the senior community.

The public are reminded that personal information such as dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers and banking details are valuable and that this information should never be passed over the phone.

The Service would like to assure the public that reputable investment companies will not take part in this type of marketing.