After one person was scammed out of nearly $10,000 and attempts were made to scam two other people, the Grey Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is asking residents to be vigilant and watch out for cons.
On Jan. 15, a resident of Southgate Township transferred $9,450 to a scammer posing as a grandchild who was involved in a collision and was under arrest.
There were two more attempts at the same scam made that day, one in Southgate Township and one in Dundalk, say police. Neither of these attempts resulted in a financial loss.
The scam is commonly known as the grandparent scam or the emergency scam.
The “grandparent scam” or emergency scam typically preys on elderly people as someone calls and impersonates a grandchild. The story usually involves trouble with the police or a medical emergency, and the grandchild asks for money for “bail” or something else. Part of the scam will involve another person impersonating a police officer or other authority figure who will organize a money transfer. Often, a scammer will attend the grandparent’s home to pick up the money. Canadian grandparents have handed over hundreds of millions of dollars in this scam.
The Criminal Code of Canada doesn’t require monetary deposits for bail.
Canada has a surety system, which must be done in the court system, and uses a “promise to pay” if an accused person does not attend their court dates. A surety is a person who must supervise the accused person while they are out of custody and awaiting court appearances.
"Unfortunately, it will continue to be used if it continues to make money," states a news release from Grey Bruce OPP. "Tech-savvy scammers use technology to create very convincing schemes to trick you into sending them money. They will commonly use the name of a real company to gain your trust so that you will send money or personal information to them."
Police note the scammer will likely have information about the grandchild from an online search. So questioning the person on the line won't work. Instead, police suggest hanging up and contacting family members to confirm whether there is an emergency.
The Grey Bruce OPP is offering you some tips to help protect you from a con artist:
- If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
- Remember that you can't win a contest that you didn't enter in the first place.
- If you have a concern about your computer, take it to a reputable repair shop for service. Do not provide remote access to a "tech" that calls you out of the blue
- Gift cards are a red flag. If someone contacts you and directs you to buy gift cards, you need to hang up the phone.
- Your best defence is to verify any unsolicited contact. Unsolicited means that you didn't ask for it.
Fraud is a multi-million-dollar enterprise that will only end when it stops making money.
Anyone interested in more information on fraud can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1 888 495 8501 or check online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/
The Grey Bruce OPP is requesting anyone with information to call 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a secure web-tip at www.cstip.ca, where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2000.
