Police issue warning as ‘grandparent scam’ ramps back up

RCMP and HRP have received ‘numerous complaints’ in the last month

CITYnews halifax \ Meghan Groff

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Local police are issuing a warning as the ‘grandparent scam’ appears to be ramping back up in our region.

Halifax District RCMP and Halifax Regional Police have received numerous complaints about this fraud in the last month.

“Victims are contacted in a perceived urgent situation and instructed to provide money to alleviate a bad circumstance of a loved one such as, but not limited to, being in jail or in a car accident,” police explained in a news release.

Some victims have lost thousands of dollars and police say these scammers can be very convincing.

They recommend taking the following steps to protect yourself:

• Slow things down, reach out to other relatives and review the situation together, and contact authorities if need be. Fraudsters create a sense of urgency.
• Never offer information to the caller (e.g., if you believe it might be a family member calling, don’t say the person’s name before they identify themselves).
• Ask the caller personal questions that only the real person would know.
• Attempt to contact the family member in question.
• Refuse to send e-transfer money, gift cards, credit card numbers, crypto currency, such as Bitcoin, or anything else of value in ‘urgent situations.’
• Be careful to not drop their guard because the number on their caller ID looks familiar or legitimate. Scammers can spoof telephone numbers and make it appear they’re calling from a trusted source.
• Contact the authority represented through a legitimate contact source, not the one provided by the contactor (e.g., the phone number listed on an official website or phonebook).
• Stop communicating with the caller if they have a feeling something is not right. If in doubt, people should hang up or delete and do not continue communication.

If you or someone you know is a victim, or you have any information about these scams, call police at 902-490-5020 or contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.