New scams to look out for this week in Mississauga and Brampton

With so many new text and phone scams happening recently, residents should be on the lookout to ensure they don’t fall victim to one of these potentially dangerous scams.

Here are several new scams we saw this week:

Buddy text scam

If you’ve received a message that looks like it’s from a friend, but you have no idea who the person is, it’s likely a common phishing scam.

The message is vague and promises to send over some sort of payment, but shouldn’t be responded to as the scammer on the other end will try to get their hands on your personal or financial information.

Parcel returned scam

This scam attempts to fool people who are waiting on a delivery.

The text message will claim that a parcel or package was supposed to be delivered to you, but returned because no one was available to take it. It then prompts you to reschedule the delivery.

To avoid scams like this, residents should reach out directly to the shipping company via phone or website if they have questions about their delivery.

Unclaimed money scam

Another vague text message, this one will claim you have $134 (or a similarly large amount of money) that you have yet to claim.

Beware any unknown messages offering you money, as they are often a ploy to get you to hand over your banking or financial information.

Hydro scam

Scam messages pretending to be from hydro companies have become a somewhat regular occurrence in Mississauga, Brampton and the surrounding areas, such as a scam claiming to be from Ontario hydro company Hydro One.

Some residents in Burlington say they received phone calls advising them that power and water supplies would be cut off unless payment was made by credit card over the phone.

Burlington Hydro caught wind of the scam and is warning residents to be cautious.

“Be aware that legitimate Burlington Hydro representatives never ask customers for banking or credit card information over the phone,” Burlington Hydro advises. “If you receive this call simply hang up.”