Ontarians Lost More than $118M to ‘Grandparent Scam’ in 2022, Reports

‘Grandparent scam’ cost Ontario residents more than $118 million. Scammers call elderly people and claim that their grandchild is sick, has suffered an accident, or has been accused of a crime.

Fraudsters committing the grandparent scam pose as members of the legal profession, or police officers, or even pretend to be a grandchild or their relative. They inform the victim that in order to keep a family member out of jail, a payment for purported bail, court costs, or a fine is necessary right now. If the victims agree to pay the demanded amount, the criminals ask them for cash to be sent via courier or postal service.

This extremely disturbing trend involves suspects physically going to the victim’s home to collect the money while pretending as a courier or court official after getting the victim’s address details.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) has received approximately 13,293 reports of grandparent scams from Ontarians between January 1 and August 31. Of these reports, 7,322 were found to be victims with stated losses totaling more than $118 million.

Since November 2021, the CAFC reports that around 55 people have been detained across Canada for acting as mules to collect money from the residences of victims. The majority of the arrests—nearly 40—took place in Ontario. Along with the arrests in Canada, there have also been arrests of people across the United States who picked up money in person and had ties with Canada.

As per the CAFC, less than 5% of all Canadian scam victims, are estimated to have reported their cases to law authorities. Thus, the details one provides are crucial because they give law enforcement the knowledge they need to root out fraudsters and protect others from being victimized.

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