Fredericton Police Force reports increase in scam and fraud cases

Fredericton police say they are dealing with a long list of fraud reports so far this year.

It may be a new year, but scammers and fraudsters around New Brunswick haven’t let up their efforts when it comes to getting your money and information.

Just nine days into 2025, the Fredericton Police Force has responded to 11 serious reports of fraud or scam complaints. Last year, the force responded to 350 instances of scams and fraud costing residents in the greater Fredericton area more than $500,000.

The ”grandparent scam” remains a popular pick among scammers. In this instance, scammers pose as a grandchild in distress and is in need of immediate financial assistance. This scam preys on the elderly and their love and concern for their family members.

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“Typically what we’re seeing lately is (the scammers) pretend that they’re being the grandchild who is in a motor vehicle collision of some kind or has ended up in some kind of legal trouble with the police and requires money for bail for lawyers, medical bills, or something to that effect,” says Det./Const. Alan Irvine with the Fredericton Police Force. “As a result, if the scammers then are able to convince the victim that this is true and this is a real situation, they’ll line up a different way to exchange money so they can collect money from the grandparent.”

Irvine says scammers will often be very pushy and pressure you into making a quick decision. He says there are a few key points residents should be mindful of when talking to a scammer.

It is important to first verify who is calling by asking questions only your real grandchild (or whoever the scammer is claiming to be) would know. You should not rush and take time to verify the story. The best way to do so is by contacting another family member or close friend to confirm the story before sending any money.

It is important to remember police will never ask for money over the phone. If someone is claiming to be with the police contacts you with a money request, hang up immediately.

“A lot of the times you’re going to feel a lot of pressure because these scammers are pretending to be people that you care about,” says Irvine. “They’re really pressing on our emotional side and our heart. We want to help our family, we want to help our friends, but they’re going to be very, very pushy. It’s going to be, ‘We need money now, we need to talk to somebody now, please go to the bank now.’ If you feel at all that this isn’t how my loved one or friend would ever speak to me, that should be a flag.”

Cecile Cassista is executive director for the Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents’ Rights. She says she is telling seniors to not pick up the phone if they do not recognize the number.

“We know that seniors are lonely living alone,” says Cassista. “And so, it’s very tempting to answer that call. It just happened a few days ago where my husband actually picked up the call, and he knew he shouldn’t have picked it up so it is very tempting.”

Cassista says she has arranged for banks to come and talk to seniors at various locations to make them aware of signs to look for when it comes to scammers.

She adds it is also on the overall population to make seniors aware of what is really happening.

“Talk to your family member and basically protect your mom, your dad, or your aunt or uncle,” says Cassista. “I think it’s important to keep talking about it because we do tend to forget about it, and we tend to be picking that phone up and only picking the phone up after it was too late.”

Irvine also says another scam circulating in the area is one related to internet IP addresses. In this instance, a scammer will pretend to be police or a lawyer and tell you that you have accessed something illegal on the internet. Typically, it is something embarrassing or society would generally view as “very bad,” says Irvine. Scammers will threaten to give that information to police or release it publicly if a set amount of money is not sent in a certain amount of time.

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