We’ve heard numerous times about the so called “grandparent scam”. You don’t always hear about arrests.
Police in Saskatoon say they have one person in custody after a string of fraud in the Bridge City totaling over $95,000.
Last fall the Saskatoon Police Service had been alerted about multiple victims of the scam, defrauding several victims out of thousands of dollars.
Police alerted the public to be on the lookout for this scam, which generally targets seniors or the elderly.
As a result of the investigation police identified a 28 year old woman from Alberta as a person of interest in the case, and an arrest warrant was issued. Police also released an image of their suspect.
On February 13th, Calgary Police arrested this person, and she has now been transferred to Saskatoon to face charges, including 10 counts of fraud over $5,000.
Here is how police describe this scam:
The Family/Grandparent Emergency Scam involves a potential victim, often an older adult, receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be a family member in an emergency and requiring money for various purposes. The fraudsters may also work in tandem and connect the victim to another person claiming to be a police officer, lawyer, doctor, or representative of another profession. The payment is often requested as cash, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. This is a scam! Any legitimate authority would never make such requests.
If you receive a suspicious phone call, ask important questions of the caller to verify their identity but refrain from offering additional details yourself. Alternatively, hang up and call that family member directly to verify their location and well-being and/or connect with other relatives to fact check the call. If the caller is claiming to be law enforcement or a representative of another profession, hang up and call that authority directly to verify the information. Fraudsters leverage urgency and panic to coerce the victim into complying with their request. Always use extreme caution, especially when being asked to send a form of currency.
If you have become the victim of fraud or have information regarding the identity and/or whereabouts of the person of interest, contact your local police or report it to the Saskatoon Police Service by calling 306-975-8300; in an emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately.
