Drug-impaired driving, Grandparent Scams becoming more prevalent in Manitoba: RCMP

The Manitoba RCMP is seeing an increase in two crimes putting residents at risk -- drug-impaired driving and the Grandparent Scam.

According to the Mounties, there was a notable spike in drug-impaired driving from 2020 to 2021. Numbers from the RCMP show that in 2020, Mounties laid 41 charges for operation while impaired by drugs. In 2021, the number went up to 55.

“Some of that could be attributed to more vehicles on the road. We were in a shutdown in 2020 due to the pandemic,” said Tara Seel, media relations officer for the Manitoba RCMP, in an interview with CTV Morning Live on Monday.

“That’s definitely one of the possibilities. But just a concerning number overall.”

Seel said that it’s dangerous to drive if you are impaired by drugs, alcohol or even a lack of focus, as things on the road happen quickly.

“If you aren’t paying attention for that one split second, that delays your response time and that could lead to tragedy pretty quickly,” she said.

GRANDPARENT SCHEME

The RCMP has also noticed many people reporting a scheme targeting elderly people, known as the ‘Grandparent Scam,’ which preys on the fear of having a loved one hurt or in trouble.

With this scheme, a person receives a call, claiming to be a grandchild or family member who is in legal trouble or some sort of emergency. The caller says they need money immediately for things like bail or ambulance fees, and that there’s a gag order in place so the victim can’t tell anyone.

The schemer will often arrange to have the funds picked up in-person or ask for cash to be sent in the mail.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people hear that, and they obviously want to help out their loved one, and that way they’re getting scammed out of quite a bit of money,” Seel said.

For anyone who receives a call claiming to be from a family member in an emergency, Seel suggests hanging up and contacting your relative directly using a number that you know belongs to them. If the caller is claiming to be law enforcement, then you should hang up and call the local police with a number from a reputable source.

She added that you can’t always trust caller ID, as schemers can do something called “spoofing,” where they use technology to disguise phone numbers and make them look like more familiar numbers.

“Be suspicious of phone calls that require you to act immediately and that request money for a family member,” she said.

“Please know that the Canadian Criminal Justice System doesn’t allow for someone to be bailed out of jail with cash or cryptocurrency.”

According to Seel, there were more than $313,000 in reported losses from the Grandparent Scam in 2021.

“Frauds are vastly underreported, so that’s just giving us a snippet of what’s actually happening,” she said,

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagace and Danton Unger.