Police warn of schemers targeting grandparents in telephone scam

Winnipeg -

The Winnipeg Police Service is warning the public about an uptick in schemes targeting the elderly under the guise of collecting bail money for their grandchildren or other family members.

Police initially sent out a public advisory in October of 2021 warning of a dramatic increase in telephone schemes known as the Grandparent Scam.

The service issued an update Tuesday saying the scam has evolved, where fraudsters contact elderly victims by phone indicating their grandchild or other family member has been arrested, and then ask for immediate bail money for their release.

“Typically, the criminal actors will direct the victim to a financial institution to make a withdrawal and then send them to either a courier or a Bitcoin machine to send money away,” Winnipeg Police Service Sergeant Trevor Thompson told CTV Morning Live Winnipeg in an interview Wednesday.

“Now, what we're seeing on some occasions here recently is the criminal actors actually sending either a rideshare person or maybe even somebody that's complicit in the fraud to the person's residence to collect the money.”

Thompson said elderly victims have lost anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the circumstance.

WPS is reminding the public they do not contact the public and demand funds be paid for the release of an arrested person.

Police are urging Winnipeggers to speak with seniors in their lives about the dangers of these frauds so they know what to watch for and how to protect themselves.

Additionally, officers say if you have been a victim of a scheme, it’s important to report it.

“People are reluctant to a call the police and tell their family members about it. There's a level of embarrassment there and shame. They don't want to disclose what has happened,” Thompson said.

“We'd encourage people to try and put that aside and know that you're not the only victim of this. These people that do this are very good at what they do, and there's no shame in falling for the scam.”

- With files from CTV's Rachel Lagacé