Grandparent scams are on the rise. Here's how you can protect yourself
CTV
Police across the country are seeing a rise in criminals preying on fears of the elderly with what's known as grandparent scams.
Like hundreds of Canadian seniors this year, Ilene Lawson received a terrifying phone call she won’t soon forget.
She was told her granddaughter had been in a car accident and a loaded gun was found in the trunk. She was now in police custody.
“I was freaking out. I was totally freaking out,” said Lawson at her home in Mississauga, Ont. “I was shaking, which is not normally me. All I could think about is my granddaughter being a cell, locked up in there.”
The caller told Lawson her granddaughter would be released if she paid a $10,000 dollar cash bond. But she was told there was a gag order and she had to keep quiet.
It was only after she handed over the money, she realized it was all a lie.
She is now sharing her story in the hope that no one else will fall victim to the scam.
“Every night when I go to bed I relive it,” she said.
