A local teen called the Ontario Provincial Police to report a fraud after he attempted to buy a fake ID online but the identification never showed up.

Because who should you call when you try to do something illegal but your plan doesn't quite pan out? The police, of course.

In a video posted to the OPP West Twitter account yesterday evening, police officer Ed Sanchuk said the Ontario Provincial Police Norfolk County attachment received a report of a fraud from a teenager on Tuesday, January 21 at around 11:35 a.m.

"Investigation determined that the teen was online, observed an individual selling fake identification and forwarded an undisclosed amount of money in order to get that identification," he said.

"Unfortunately, that identification never arrived. The negative to this is that this teenager provided all their personal and identifying information. Now, that individual needs to be aware of potential identity theft issues down the road."

Sanchuk said it's no surprise teens want fake IDs so they can pretend to be older for a number of reasons, but it's important that they know there will be consequences.

"We know teenagers that want to be older so they can drive, when they turn 19 they can get into bars and purchase alcohol, or when they turn 21 to go to the States," he said.

"We want to put a reminder out for parents and caregivers to sit down and talk with their teens to let them know the ramifications of doing such a thing."

Sanchuk added that he plans to talk to his own kids about the ramifications of identify theft, and he also intends to remind them of the legal consequences of using a fake ID.

"We are urging all residents to protect their information. Please do not share any personal or identifying information with anyone on the internet. You just don't know where that information goes," he noted.

"When we sit down and talk to our teens, we want to let them know about the identity theft ramifications but also the possibility of criminal charges when you tender or provide anyone with that piece of identification claiming that you’re a certain age or using other people's names."