Selkirk resident was almost caught in grandparent scam
Grandparent scams are once again making the rounds in our community and an 82-year-old resident wants to share her experience so that others know how convincing these frauds are becoming.
The resident does not want to be identified in this article but is a senior who lives in the City of Selkirk.
“I received a phone call and he said, ‘Hello, Grandma. How are you,” And then I said fine. Then he said, ‘Do you know who this is?’ And I said his name. And, he started to tell me that he was in big trouble,” said the Selkirk resident.
The resident did think that the fraudster’s voice didn’t sound exactly like her grandson’s but thought that he might have had a cold because his voice was quite similar to that of the family member she assumed he was.
The fraudster then ramped up the urgency by saying that he only had one phone call.
“And of course, me thinking well, his mother and dad are both working and if you’re only allowed one call [it makes sense to call your grandmother who is often at home],” said the resident.
The scammer then went on to say that the grandson and his friend had been caught on drug possession charges and that they were in jail.
“He shared the story and then He said, I’ll let you talk to my lawyer or a policeman, I’m not quite sure but I did talk to a ‘policeman’ and a ‘lawyer’. They kept saying, “You know, I think he’s not guilty. He seems like such a nice kid and he’s got no record or anything.’ Convincing me that he wasn’t guilty,” she said.
This fraud took place on a Friday.
They then told the resident that if her grandson stayed in jail over the weekend that he would have a record but if they could get him released by the end of the day that that wouldn’t apply but that her grandson would need a bond.
Initially, they said that they would need a $50,000 bond but the resident said that she didn’t have that kind of money. The fraudsters then told her that they could get a bondsman involved which would reduce the cost to $7,000 and that she would get the money back when her grandson showed up to court.
“[The fraudster] said, ‘What I want you to do is go to get the money out of the bank and I’ll call you back in 20 minutes.’ I said, ‘I don’t think the bank’s going to give me that type of money.’ And he says, ‘Well, just say that you’ve got an emergency or you’re going on holidays’,” said the resident.
She then said that she didn’t know how to ship that kind of money safely to the city where her grandson lives.
The fraudster then made a big mistake that clued the resident into the fact that this was a scam. He asked her how to spell the name of her grandson’s city which is a well-known city in the province.
“I continued eating [my lunch] and I’m thinking, this is not right,” said the resident.
She decided to double-check and called her grandson. Her grandson was home safe and sound and she says she was so happy that she would have jumped for joy if her knees were capable of it.
She then went right to the police station to let our local RCMP officers know that this scam happened.
Luckily the quick thinking of this local senior made it so that she didn’t get scammed herself but she wanted to share her story so that other seniors who may be in a similar position recognize the scam for what it is without having to worry like she did.
This type of scam called a grandparent scam is a variation of an emergency scam that targets grandparents. Residents should be aware that scams like this can target anyone in our community not just grandparents as scammers can use the same type of trickery to try to convince people that any relative, friend, or loved one is in immediate need.
Emergency scams create a sense of urgency making the person who is being targeted feel like they must act quickly instead of thinking the situation through.
Constable Paul Human community policing officer with the local Selkirk RCMP detachment says that residents need to “be an investigator. These calls will grab at your heart and all you will want to do is help them out. Take a time-out. Recount the story with someone else (hopefully another family member). If the story sounds weird, it is.”
His top 3 tips to prevent grandparent scams are:
Ask the caller a few personal questions that only a real grandchild would know and an imposter would not.
After they hang up, verify the story by calling the parents or other relatives of the grandchild.
NEVER send money to someone under uncertain conditions.
If you would like to report a scam or learn more about recent frauds in Canada visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website at https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
