HALIFAX – Online classified websites, like Kijiji or Craigslist, allow users to buy and sell millions of items. Some sellers, however, have been trying to sell concert tickets, sport event tickets, even puppies without holding up their end of the bargain.
“They would ask for payment through the internet, either through e-mail, money transfer, through the mail, or other various ways, but never in person, and obviously the goods were never delivered,” explains Halifax Regional Police Cst. Pierre Bourdages.
According to Bourdages, the investigation, which spanned from coast-to-coast and took three years to solve, identified that about 300 people fell victim to the online scam.
“We identified losses of over $150,000 and it was all traced back here in Halifax to the public library system,” said Bourdages.
Get weekly money news
Police say the suspects were accessing the online classified ad sites through computers at Halifax libraries — a decision that helped investigators track them down.
“The public library system is actually what made this investigation solvable because the IP address was traced back to the library system which then requires a user name and password to log into,” said Bourdages.
On Wednesday, investigators arrested eight individuals on multiple fraud-related charges. One was released on a promise to appear in court at a later date, and the remaining seven, listed below, appeared in Halifax Provincial Court on Thursday:
– 23-year-old Sarajane Hope Mansfield of Dartmouth
– 28-year-old Ashley Anna Goodwin of Dartmouth
– 24-year-old Joshua Andrew Orde of Halifax
– 24-year-old Christian Stephen Orde of Dartmouth
– 27-year-old Bradley Charles Orde of Dartmouth
– 52-year-old Heather Joy Orde of Dartmouth
– 53-year-old Charles Maxwell Orde of Dartmouth
While five out of the seven names released share the same last name, police won’t reveal their relation.
Halifax Public Libraries’s Director of Community Engagement, Kathleen Peverill, says police contacted her staff a few months ago to ask that they suspend internet access to these 8 suspects.
“While we respect people’s privacy we do not allow illegal activity to happen,” said Peverill. “We have 600, 000 computer bookings at our libraries each year and incidents of misuse are very rare.”
Halifax police say they had the co-operation of police agencies and financial institutions around north america during their investigation.
Comments