RCMP warn of ‘grandmother scam’ after Kelowna senior loses $14K

The RCMP is cautioning the public after a Kelowna grandmother was conned out of thousands of dollars.

The case left the Kelowna grandmother $14,000 out of pocket and is a well-known scam.

According to a Kelowna RCMP media release, the scam, known as the Grandparent or Emergency Scam, took place in December 2019.

The Kelowna senior received a phone call from someone pretending to her adult grandson. Sounding desperate and distressed, the scammer told the senior they'd been involved in a car crash and was in legal trouble and urgently needed money to cover the damages.

"The victim, a Kelowna grandmother in her late 70s, sadly transferred $14,000 in Canadian funds to the con artist to two separate accounts, to support the costs he claimed were associated his legal troubles,” RCMP Const. Solana Paré said in the release. "In some cases, the scammer will play on the victims’ emotions and sense of loyalty, telling them they are the only person they trust enough to call for help."

The RCMP says the public should be aware that scammers often take the information from public social media pages, online websites and even family genealogy sites, looking for the information they need to trick their victims. In some cases, victims unknowingly give the scammers personal information over the phone. 

For more information about this and other scams, the RCMP recommends the public look at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website found here.

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