Two people in southern Ontario are out more than $10,000 after falling victim to a grandparent scam that saw someone go to their homes pretending to be a bondsperson to pick up cash, police say.
Ontario Provincial Police in Perth County say earlier this month, two people were contacted on the phone by someone who claimed to be a lawyer. The person told them a family member was in jail after a collision and needed bail money.
The lawyer told the victims a bondsperson would come to the house to get the money.
“In both cases, the person of interest attended the victims’ homes to collect cash in person, after the victims had attended a bank,” Perth County OPP said in a release on Monday.
One person handed over $5,000 while the other person gave the fake bondsperson $5,500, police say.
The individual who went to the homes was describe as a man between the ages of 20 and 50, between five feet five inches tall and five feet 10 inches. He was wearing all black clothing including a black tuque.
Police are reminding people to be aware these scams can happen and be cautious of similar emergency phone calls.
“In this type of emergency call, the grandchild or child on the phone might state they have broken their nose in the collision, and that is why their voice sounds different,” police said.
OPP also remind people if they receive an unsolicited phone call or message that asks for personal information such as birthdays, banking information or a SIN number, don’t provide that information and hang up. Also, do not agree to pay any bills via gift cards or cryptocurrency.
“Legitimate organizations do not receive payments by gift cards of any type,” police said.
Anyone who thinks they’ve fallen victim to a scam should contact police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.