Surge of grandparent scam calls in Nanaimo

Just a few weeks after the “grandparent scam” cost two Saanich residents a total of more than $27,000, the persistent fraud has emerged in Nanaimo, with about 20 reports to police in the span of just a few hours.

Nanaimo RCMP said most of the calls were from people who managed to avoid losing any money, but some people said they lost from $3,000 to $8,000.

The scam features callers claiming to be a grandchild or other relative in trouble and in need of money for bail or some other emergency expense.

It can involve fraudsters who have combed social media for personal information about a potential victim, such as the term their grandchildren use for them.

In at least one of the Nanaimo cases, a fraudster found online audio of a potential victim’s niece and used artificial intelligence to mimic it, said Reserve Const. Gary O’Brien.

“In this call, the niece said that she had been arrested and was in jail in the Dominican Republic,” police said in a statement. “A second person then came on the line purporting to work at the Canadian Consulate.”

The person targeted was almost convinced but ended up checking with police and avoided being scammed.

“Our switchboard was lit up with call after call from the public asking if their loved one had been arrested and was in jail,” O’Brien said.

One call was from a woman at a bank who had unsuccessfully tried to withdraw money. She called police and was assured she had been dealing with a scam.

The most common scenario used in the calls involved a grandson being arrested after a motor-vehicle incident involving a pregnant woman.

The caller would claim that a large sum of money had to be delivered immediately for him to be released from jail.

Police said that in most instances, the fraudster would end a call if questioned in any way.

They said anyone receiving a call that seems to match the details of the grandparent scam should simply hang up.

The Saanich cases ended up with two people, a man from Montreal and a woman from Quebec City, being arrested at Vancouver International Airport.

More information on avoiding scams is available from the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre via its website at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/.