Pair from Guelph arrested after string of grandparent scam calls

Waterloo regional police have arrested a 20-year-old and a 16-year-old from Guelph after officers received 14 reports of the grandparent scam in a single day.

During one of the incidents, the victim detected the scam and called police.

The 82-year-old Cambridge resident was contacted by fraudsters claiming their grandson was in jail and needed $15,000 to be released on bail.

Officers responded to the area to intercept the transaction and arrested the two individuals. Both were charged with fraud.

WHAT IS THE GRANDPARENT SCAM?

During the grandparent or emergency scam, the fraudster will contact the victim claiming they are a grandchild who has been arrested and in need of money to be bailed out of jail. While the fraudster can claim to be any family member, they generally pose as grandchildren seeking assistance from their grandparents who appear to be particularly vulnerable to this fraud, Waterloo regional police said.

Typically, a call is made from a fraudster claiming to be the victim's grandchild stating they had been arrested after a motor vehicle collision or a traffic stop where drugs were found in the car. The caller asks for money to be bailed out of jail. The victim is then transferred to a second fraudster who poses as a police officer or lawyer, who instructs the victim not to discuss the matter with anyone due to a “gag order” because they could jeopardize the case or themselves face legal consequences.

The fraudster then directs the victim to attend their bank to obtain the funds and coach the victim on telling bank officials the money is for home renovations to avoid suspicion of fraud. The fraudsters will also pose as a courier to pick up the funds or direct victims to send the money via legitimate courier to an address commonly located in another city or province.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE SCAM

Here are tips from police:

• Take time to think. Fraudsters will make the incident sound urgent to pressure victims into acting quickly and without rational thought. Fraudsters keep victims focused on helping their grandchild and not evaluating the unrealistic nature of the story presented.
• Contact the family member in question or other trusted person to assist as emotions run high for vulnerable victims confronted with a crisis. Typically, fraudsters will instruct victims to not speak to anyone about the incident in efforts to manipulate them, however, this type of fraud can typically be foiled with one phone call to the involved family member to confirm their wellbeing.
• Ask the fraudsters verifying questions that only family members would know.
• Call someone you trust or police for an opinion about the incident. The police will never direct members of the public to mislead banking officials as to the nature of the incident or intended use of funds. Police will never request you obtain cash or send cash funds via courier or other means to anyone.