Brandonites deluged with ‘grandparent scam’ calls
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/01/2024 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brandon police are warning that the “grandparent” scam has returned to Brandon.
On Wednesday, police say they received more than 30 calls from residents reporting they were targets of the popular phone scam.
Some of the calls were from a person pretending to be a grandchild who was in an accident and needed money for bail.
Other callers pretended to be a lawyer for the grandchild and offered to help make arrangements to get the money to assist them.
Police said only one complainant reported sending funds — $9,000 in Bitcoin currency.
In December, the province announced it would be refunding 14 Manitobans who were defrauded last year by two Ontario residents in a grandparent scam, which resulted in a total loss of $145,400.
The scam unfolded over a 10-day period in July 2022, with the perpetrators masquerading as grandchildren in dire legal straits and coercing victims into furnishing cash for their supposed release.
Winnipeg Police Service managed to recover $75,200 from eight different envelopes marked with the false file numbers, leading to the subsequent arrest and charging of the fraudsters.
Brandon police issued a warning about the grandparent scam in February last year, when six victims came forward to authorities.
The victims each lost money in the range of $5,000 to $11,000 after receiving a phone call from an individual claiming to be a relative (usually a grandchild or son) and in need of financial assistance.
Following this call, a suspect went to the homes of the victims to collect the money in person. Another individual claiming to be a lawyer then contacted the victims requesting more money.
Police are advising community members to hang up on these scam artists and not to give or send anyone any money.
» The Brandon Sun