Police warn of schemers targeting grandparents in telephone scam
CTV
The Winnipeg Police Service is warning the public about an uptick in schemes targeting the elderly under the guise of collecting bail money for their grandchildren or other family members.
The Winnipeg Police Service is warning the public about an uptick in schemes targeting the elderly under the guise of collecting bail money for their grandchildren or other family members.
Police initially sent out a public advisory in October of 2021 warning of a dramatic increase in telephone schemes known as the Grandparent Scam.
The service issued an update Tuesday saying the scam has evolved, where fraudsters contact elderly victims by phone indicating their grandchild or other family member has been arrested, and then ask for immediate bail money for their release.
“Typically, the criminal actors will direct the victim to a financial institution to make a withdrawal and then send them to either a courier or a Bitcoin machine to send money away,” Winnipeg Police Service Sergeant Trevor Thompson told CTV Morning Live Winnipeg in an interview Wednesday.
“Now, what we're seeing on some occasions here recently is the criminal actors actually sending either a rideshare person or maybe even somebody that's complicit in the fraud to the person's residence to collect the money.”
Thompson said elderly victims have lost anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the circumstance.
WPS is reminding the public they do not contact the public and demand funds be paid for the release of an arrested person.
The Montreal Victoire ended its preparatory mini-tournament as host team on a positive note with a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Charge on Friday afternoon at the Espace Denis-Savard rink in the Verdun Auditorium.
Annie Gallant, a 10-year-old from Nova Scotia, brought home a special gift from her first concert.
A Toronto family is speaking out after their 10-year-old daughter's Crocs got stuck in an escalator, ripping the entire toe area of the clog off.
The operators of the Bruce Nuclear Plant near Kincardine just donated $1 million towards Huron County’s largest affordable housing project in years.
Women and Gender Equality and Youth Minister Marci Ien is calling the federal government's proposed GST holiday and $250 rebate cheques a 'targeted approach' to address affordability concerns.
Photo radar cameras have caught nearly 300,000 speeders on Ottawa roads so far this year, as the City of Ottawa prepares to expand the automated speed enforcement camera program to another 39 locations over the next 14 months.
As NATO officials met up in Montreal, pro-Palestinian protesters flooded downtown in solidarity with those in Gaza.
Ottawa seniors will be facing a 60 per cent hike in transit fares in 2025, instead of a 120 per cent increase, under a new plan to halve a proposed hike in fares for riders over the age of 65.
Layoffs could be imminent for the Victoria Police Department if it adheres to the requests of the City of Victoria, and cuts over $2 million from its budget.
Snowplows will be on standby ready to go as the province is expected to get more snow over the weekend.
Saskatoon's new downtown shelter must undergo renovations before it can open, according to the operator of the site.