OPP Offer Tips To Protect Seniors From Grandparent Scam

OPP urging elderly people to take precautions in order to prevent them from becoming victims of "grandparent scam."

The OPP is offering some tips to help protect elderly people from scams. 

The grandparent or emergency scam typically starts with a senior being contacted by a suspect who tells them a family member was in an accident or in legal trouble. 

The suspect may claim to be a law enforcement official or impersonate the family member. 

The victim is told that money is needed for bail or legal fees immediately, in order to avoid jail time. 

Victims are asked to send cash in the mail or through courier services. 

The OPP has offered the following tips to protect yourself from becoming a victim: 

• If you receive a suspicious phone call claiming to be from a family member in an emergency situation, hang up the phone and contact them directly.
• If the caller claims to be a law enforcement official, hang up and call your police directly.
• Listen to that inner voice that is screaming at you: "This doesn't sound right".
• Be careful what you post online. Scammers can use details shared on social media platforms and dating sites for targeting purposes. Suspects can easily gather names and details about your loved ones.
• Be suspicious of telephone calls that require you to immediately take action and request bail money for a family member in distress.
• Be careful with caller ID numbers that look familiar. Scammers use technology to disguise the actual number they are calling from (spoof) and make it appear as a trusted phone number.
• According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Agency, about 55 individuals have been arrested across Canada as mules picking up cash at the homes of victims. 

Nearly 40 of the arrests have occurred in Ontario, and there have been a number of victims here in Niagara. 

As well, several cases across the U.S. have resulted in the arrests of people with Canadian connections picking up money in person.