Phone scam artist targeting gay community

[vaneramos]

This particularly effects delegates to the GALA Festival in Montreal. A phone scam artist has been calling members of the queer community, organizations and churches, claiming to have been gay bashed and asking for a transfer of money. He is highly organized, and has gathered enough detailed information about activists and other community leaders to make his calls sound legitimate. He is known to have a list of more than 5,000 delegates to the GALA Festival. He seems to have started in Guelph, where a prominent counsellor and activitist was scammed out of $60, but numerous people across Ontario have received calls since then. It has spread into the States, where he has persuaded people to send him bank transfers of up to $400. If you receive a call from this person, do not send any money. Report it to phone busters at 1-888-495-8501 or email wafl@phonebusters.com. Please pass this information to your community, particularly GLBT choruses that attended Montreal.