Grandparent scammers busted
![Phone scams Protect yourself from phone scams in this undated file image.](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2024/2/26/phone-scams-1-6784014-1708969741521.jpeg)
Police busted two people knee-deep in a grandparent scam.
On Thursday, Huronia West police were notified of a potential grandparent scam in the works in Wasaga Beach.
Between Thursday and Saturday, a victim had been contacted by phone advising them that their grandson had been arrested.
The caller identified himself as a Newmarket police officer and told the victim their grandson needed financial assistance to cover the costs of the judge, as well as lawyer fees to get him out of jail.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
This person visited the victim's house on three separate occasions to collect the money. However, they were greeted by the police on the third visit.
A 24-year-old from London and a 25-year-old from Bowmanville were charged with fraud over $5,000, and the London person was also charged with resisting a peace officer.
What is a grandparent/emergency scam?
Emergency scams, including variations called grandparent scams, use urgency and the manipulation of emotions to extort money from victims.
In these scams, fraudsters cold call seniors on landline phones, claiming to be a grandchild, family member, law enforcement officer or lawyer calling on behalf of their loved one.
They will say that the person's loved one was involved in an emergency situation, such as a collision, charged by law enforcement, legal peril, being sick or injured, etc.
They demand the senior provide payment immediately for supposed bail, legal fees, fines, or other amounts to stop the family member from going to jail or to get them released from custody. This is a scam.
Warning signs and how to protect yourself
- If you receive a suspicious phone call claiming to be from a family member in an emergency, hang up the phone and contact them directly on the number you have in your contact list.
- If the caller claims to be a law enforcement official and asks you to pay a fine or bail, hang up and call your police directly. A police officer will never call you and ask for money.
- Listen to that inner voice screaming at you: "This doesn't sound right."
- Be careful what you post online. Scammers can use details shared on social media platforms and dating sites for targeting purposes. Suspects can easily gather names and details about your loved ones.
- Be suspicious of telephone calls requiring you to immediately take action and request bail money for a distressed family member.
- Be careful with caller ID numbers that look familiar. Scammers use technology to disguise the actual number they are calling from and make it appear as a trusted phone number.
- If you receive an email or text message claiming to be from a friend or loved one asking for money, make the outgoing call to the person by looking up the legitimate phone number you have for them in your contact list.
- Use unique and strong passwords for all social media and email accounts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
DEVELOPING Alberta's request for federal assistance approved after fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
BREAKING Loblaw, George Weston to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500-million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
U.K. police officer suspended after video appears to show a man being kicked in head
A British police officer was suspended from all duties Thursday after a video was posted on social media that appeared to show an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man lying on the floor of a terminal at Manchester Airport.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
Biden explains why he ended re-election bid in Oval Office address
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Jasper mayor says alert system to be reviewed after message 'glitch'
More than 25,000 people have been displaced from Jasper National Park since wildfires started to threaten the picturesque corner of Alberta Rockies on Monday, but the mayor of its namesake municipality says not everyone received an evacuation alert when it was sent out.