Con Man Takes Advantage Of 82 Year Old

(ST.MARYS, ON) On Tuesday October 16, 2012, a St,Marys resident contacted the Perth County OPP to report that his mother was the victim of a scam.

Investigation revealed that the caller’s mother, a 82 year old St.Marys resident, received a telephone call from a male who said he was her grandson. The male used her actual grandson’s name and sounded very convincing. He told her he needed cash because he was in Montreal and was having truck troubles. She was provided a Montreal address to which the money was to be sent via courier. She immediately went to her bank and withdrew $2500 and sent the money.

The following day she received a second call from the male who told her that more cash was required. She withdrew an additional $2300, and used another courier service to rush the money to Montreal.

When the lady did not hear back from her grandson the following day, she contacted her grandson who was fine and had not made the calls. The grandson contacted his father who in turn checked with his mother and reported the incident to the police.

Investigation is continuing into the possible recipient and address where the money was delivered.

The Perth County OPP wants to remind residents to be weary of this ‘GRANDPARENT EMERGENCY SCAM’. If you receive requests for money, take measures to verify the requestor’s identity and the legitimacy of their story before you complete the transaction. If you are not sure about financial requests, contact a trusted person, your bank or the police.

What should I do if I have been scammed? You should report the matter immediately to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at www.antifraudcentre.ca

As well, you should report the matter to the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Although it may be difficult to recover the money you have lost to a scam by reporting the scam to authorities, you are warning other people about the scam and minimizing the chances of the scam spreading further.

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