Saanich residents lost more than $27,000 to the so-called grandparent scam in three separate instances reported this week, with one of the scammers showing up at victims’ homes to collect the cash, police say.
The scam targets seniors, with callers claiming to be a grandchild or other relative who is in trouble and needs money to get out of the situation.
All three Saanich cases purported to involve a family member being in jail and needing money for bail or for a lawyer. In other cases, they claim to have crashed their car or been arrested.
“It’s an elaborate story,” Insp. Damian Kowalewich said.
One person lost more than $20,000 and another more than $7,000, while a third phoned a friend for advice and avoided the scam.
Kowalewich said the scam is generally conducted only by phone, but in these cases, the scammers said they would send a courier to the residence and a woman showed up to collect the money.
“In one case they actually came back several times for several different batches of money over a couple of days,” he said.
The suspect is described as white and in her 20s with long blond hair. She was driving a white 2023 Kia Sportage SUV from a rental company.
Kowalewich said detectives from the Major Crime Unit are investigating. Anyone with information on the suspect or who has been affected by the scam is asked to contact Saanich police.
As cases involving fraud increase, Kowalewich said those who are targeted need to stop and seek a second opinion.
“The schemes are always evolving and changing, and tugging on people’s emotions,” he said. “So we’re asking people just to slow down, phone somebody for advice.”
In the case of the grandparent scam, police said to never give money if you receive such a call, and to do your own checks with relatives to see if anything is really wrong.
Port Moody police reported this month that three seniors were victimized by the grandparent scam in one day and lost a combined total of $12,000.
For more information on the grandparent scam and its variations, go to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website at https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/scams-fraudes/emergency-urgence-eng.htm.
