Mississauga and Brampton residents warned about ‘grandparent scams’
Published November 17, 2022 at 2:29 pm
Peel cops are warning older residents in Mississauga and Brampton to beware of an increasingly popular phone scam in which callers pretend to be a grandchild in immediate need of cash.
“Grandparent scams are becoming more prevalent in our region,” Peel Regional Police said in a post to Twitter today (Nov. 17).
According to police, a typical scam call will start with the caller immediately asking questions in order to get valuable information.
“Grandma? Do you know who this is?” a fraudulent call typically begins.
Thinking it’s their grandchild, victims will often reply, “Yes, I know it’s you, John.”
The caller now has a first name they will start using to gain credibility in the conversation, police say.
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The scammer will then quickly escalate matters and ask for money because they say they were in a car accident or they’re under arrest and in jail in another city or country.
“Sometimes, they’ll put another person on the phone to act like a police officer, bail bondsman or lawyer,” fraud investigators say.
The end result, police say, is often that the victim, in an attempt to help their “grandchild,” will withdraw funds from their bank account and wire money to the scammer.
Police say there are several things people should do to avoid becoming a victim of such frauds.
First of all, never offer any information, they caution.
“If someone asks ‘do you know who this is,’ simply say no. Press the caller for details and ask them to repeat their story,” police say. “Ask questions your real grandchild could answer, but an imposter could not.”
After hanging up, potential victims are urged to verify the story by calling the parents of their own grandchild.
Police also tell potential victims to never wire money to someone under uncertain conditions, as it’s nearly impossible to trace. Additionally, they say, never provide your credit card number over the phone or internet unless you’re sure the funds request is legitimate.
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