Police warn about 'grandparent scams' after Manitoba senior loses thousands of dollars

Manitoba RCMP are warning people about a rise in what are known as "grandparent scams," saying an elderly woman gave thousands of dollars last month to a fraud artist who told her he needed the money to help her grandson after a car crash.

Mounties said Stonewall RCMP got a report about that fraud on Feb. 28 from the 79-year-old woman, who said it all started when she got a call a few days earlier from someone claiming to be her grandson. She said the man told her he hadbeen arrested after getting in a car crash in Winnipeg and needed money for bail.

The woman told police she was instructed to take out $8,000 in cash for someone to pick up from her home. She then got a phone call from someone claiming to be her grandson's lawyer, who told her the money would be picked up by courier and that she couldn't tell anyone about it, RCMP said in a news release on Wednesday.

Mounties said they've seen a jump in this specific type of fraud in recent months. Since the start of 2024, police say there have been about 13 similar cases in southern Manitoba, leading to a loss of roughly $70,000 for those victims.

After handing over the $8,000 in cash, the woman involved in one of the latest of these scams said she got more phone calls from the same person the next day, who told her another $8,000 would be needed to pay fines and exonerate her grandson. She said she handed the money over again to a courier.

Getting victims to hand over their moneyin person instead of online has become common among fraud artists running grandparent scams,RCMP spokesperson Tara Seelsays.

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"A lot of the times, the victims aren't maybe necessarily as savvy on the internet or with their mobile banking apps or things like that, so they're playing to their victims, right?They're trying to make it as easy as possible for the victims to get them the money," Seel said.

Days later, the woman said she got more calls asking for another large sum of money. When she went to her financial institution that time to take out the money, an employee told her she might have been the victim of a scam, and the woman reported it to RCMP.

Seel said scammers often also tell their victims to get the money from a financial institution that isn't the one they usually go to, as a way to lessen the chance the teller will recognize them and realize something's wrong.

Mounties said they came by the woman's home later that day and intercepted the courier when he was scheduled to come by for the rest of the money.

RCMP said the man, 32, who had a warrant in Alberta for fraud, was arrested and charged with fraud over $5,000. He was remanded into custody.

Seel said police are looking into whether any recent incidents of other similar scams in Manitoba could be linked to the same man.

Mounties say they think there could be more victims, and are asking people to report anything similar to local police as soon as possible.

"We do believe that there's other victims of this scam who maybe are too embarrassed to come forward or haven't realized that it's a scam as of yet," Seel said.

She says it's important for people to ask questions if they get a phone call from someone asking for money.

"Double check, right? If your grandson calls you and says, 'I'm in jail, I need help,' call your grandson back at the number you have for him, or call his parents," she said.

"If you're unsure about something, check in with a family member or a trusted individual like an employee at a financial institution to see if this sounds legitimate."