The Grey Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is seeing an increase in the number of calls for service regarding the "grandparent scam."

What is an emergency / grandparent scam?

Emergency scams, including variations called "grandparent scams", use urgency and the manipulation of emotions to extort money from victims. In these scams, fraudsters cold call seniors, on phones, claiming to be a grandchild, family member, law enforcement officer or lawyer calling on behalf of their loved one. They'll say that the person's loved one was involved in an emergency situation, such as a collision, charged by law enforcement, legal peril, being sick or injured, etc. They demand the senior provide payment immediately for supposed bail, legal fees, fines or other amounts "owed" to stop the family member from going to jail or to get them released from custody. This is a scam.

The fraudsters isolate the victims by informing them that there is a court-imposed gag order, and they're forbidden from discussing the matter. The victims are directed to attend their financial institution to withdraw the requested amount in cash. The fraudsters will then send someone to pick it up from the victim's home or have the victim send the money via courier services. There have also been reports of victims paying with cryptocurrency.

How to protect yourself?

• Don't give out your personal information (name, address, DOB, SIN, banking credentials).
• If you know a senior or have an elderly family member, please reach out to them and have a conversation on what to do if they get a phone call like this and consider coming up with a code word.
• Don't accept friend requests from people you do not know.
• Don't invest your money in platforms provided by people you don't know.
• Be careful who you share images with. Suspects will often use explicit pictures to extort victims into sending more money.
• Protect your online accounts.
• Never send money to someone you haven't met.
• Don't respond to text messages from phone numbers you do not recognize.
• Learn more tips and tricks for protecting yourself.

If you fall victim to a fraud or know someone who has, contact your local police service to report the crime and report it to the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501 or online on the Fraud Reporting System (FRS), even if a financial loss did not occur.

source: media release, OPP