‘Grandparent scam’ claims another victim in Okanagan

An Okanagan resident has lost a “large sum of cash” after falling victim to the emergency scam, also known as the grandparent scam.

RCMP say in September 2020, a Kelowna resident answered a scam phone call from Quebec, and on the other end of the line was someone claiming to be a lawyer. While on the phone, a man could be heard crying in the background as the lawyer explained that the victim’s son had been in a motor vehicle collision and that the victim had to send bail money to the lawyer on their son’s behalf to get him out of police custody.

“The victim attended a local bank and deposited a large sum of cash into a numbered bank account provided by the lawyer,” said Const. Solana Pare, media relations officer. “Following the deposit, the lawyer requested further funds for damages caused to a photo radar device during the collision. The victim followed the instructions and deposited further funds into the account, but by this time the victim was growing increasingly concerned regarding her son. Later that day, the victim spoke with their son and confirmed that he was safe and sound.”

Police continue to investigate the fraud.

“This was an unfortunate situation of scammers using an emotional plea to take advantage of a parent’s concern for their child and exploit it to their advantage,” added Pare. “The Kelowna RCMP has since received further reports from citizens who received calls of similar nature who took the precautionary measure to call and confirm the call was a scam.”

Police advise to follow these steps if confronted with this scam or others:

• Watch out for urgent pleas that play on your emotions. If you have any doubts, simply end the conversation;
• If you have received a call or contact from someone claiming a family member is in trouble, talk to other family members to confirm the situation;
• Never send cash, gift cards or money transfers as payment to an unknown recipient.