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Someone in northeastern Ontario lost $15,000 after falling victim to a version of the emergency/grandparent scam.
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In a release issued Tuesday, the East Algoma Detachment of the OPP said the victim contacted officers on July 8 after they were scammed.
The case “involved the victim’s grandson who was in a car crash that involved another vehicle, and the female was injured,” the OPP said. “The scammer posed as a police officer and attended the victim’s residence in plainclothes and picked up an envelope containing a large amount of cash.
“Later that day, the scammer contacted the victims again and stated that the female who was injured in the car accident was pregnant and would drop the charges against the grandson for a sum of $15,000. The victim requested to speak with their grandson. The scammer indicated the grandson was under a gag order and could not speak until he was released.
“The grandson was never in police custody and, unfortunately, the victim’s hard-earned money was gone.”
The OPP said that at no time will a police officer request you to go to your bank and take out any money to bring home. Nor will a police officer attend your house to collect any amount of money for someone’s release.
To guard against becoming a victim, police advise you to first check with another family member or trusted friend to verify the information before sending money or providing credit card information by phone, e-mail or…
