The Smiths Falls Police Service are warning the public of the grandparent scam making its way through the region.
In a video captured by Ring and posted by the SFPS on social media Friday, the suspect in the fraud case is seen identifying himself as a courthouse official, after receiving an emergency phone call from a fraudster advising their grandchild was in an accident due to being distracted by a cell phone resulting in an accident.
The victim was instructed to have $8000.00 cash ready at their residence for pick up in order to get their grandchild out of jail.
The suspect then attended the victim’s residence and collected the money.
The victim later spoke to other family members, which revealed that there was no accident nor was their grandchild in jail.
In these scams, fraudsters often cold call seniors, on landline or cell phones, claiming to be a grandchild, family member, law enforcement officer or lawyer calling on behalf of their loved one. These calls will often catch seniors off guard and due to the severity of circumstance be more than willing to send money via electronic transfer or in some cases the suspects will attend the victim at their residence to collect money.
If you have any questions about any of these frauds, please contact the Smiths Falls Police Services, 613 283-0357 ext. 0.
Story by Grant Deme
Comments