(Bancroft, Ontario) – On Thursday the 29th of May 2014, the Bancroft detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police received the report of a fraud from a Bancroft area resident. The resident reported receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be their grandson and that they were in police custody as a result of a motor vehicle collision. The caller stated that they needed $500.00 to get out of jail. The money was not sent. The male claiming to be he grandson called again and advised the caller that they were now in the hospital because they had been injured and required $1030.00 for insurance purposes. The caller instructed the person to withdraw money and forward it through money gram to Quebec. Unfortunately, in this incident reported to police, the Bancroft area resident forwarded the money.
Always beware of this fraud known as the “Grandparent Scam†or “Emergency Scamâ€Â. There are many variations to this scam, but the typical scenario involves a person receiving a phone call from a con-artist claiming to be a family member, friend or neighbour. The caller will go on to say that they are in some kind of trouble and need money immediately. Typically they will claim being in a car crash, that there is a family funeral, they are having trouble returning from a foreign country or they have been arrested and need money to get out of jail.
When encountering such an incident either by phone or e-mail you should be very cautious before sending funds and always verify whether the information is accurate by speaking with other family or friends.