Phone scam nearly costs Kelowna grandparents $1,000

KELOWNA – A concerned couple in their 70s arrived at the Kelowna RCMP detachment yesterday with money to bail their grandson out of jail.

But he wasn’t in jail.

Kelowna RCMP Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey says in a media release the couple were victims of an increasingly common scam.

“The elderly man and woman arrived at the detachment’s front counter with cash in hand, with intentions of posting bail for their grandson’s release from custody,” he says. “The elderly couple told police that they had received a telephone call from their ‘grandson’ who explained he had been involved in a bad car accident, that he suffered a broken nose and had since been arrested for impaired driving.”

He claimed to be detained at the courthouse and needed the couple to electronically transfer $1,000 for bail.

“It did not take long for the Kelowna Mountie, assigned to assist the elderly couple, to determine that their grandson was not in police custody and the couple were likely being targeted by a scammer,” he says.

“Following our officer’s recommendations, the couple called and spoke to their real grandson, who thankfully confirmed he had not been involved in any crash. Fortunately the man and woman did not lose any of their money.”

O’Donaghey says victims of the grandparent scam or emergency scam typically don’t verify the story until after they have transferred the cash to the caller. Often times the fraudster, who seems frightened, will ask the victim not to tell other relatives.

For more information on these and many other common scams visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.

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