A Mission senior was scammed into paying thousands of dollars for “his grandson’s bail” in late February, according to the Mission RCMP.
An 86-year-old man from Mission reported the incident to police on Feb. 18. No one has been arrested in the case and an investigation is ongoing.
Police say the man received a call from someone pretending to be his grandson. The alleged scammer said that he had been arrested and needed bail money to get out of jail. A fake police officer took over the call and explained how the victim could pay the bail money.
Two men collected the money at the senior’s residence after the phone call while pretending to be plainclothes police officers. The 86-year-old man realized he was scammed shortly after paying and reported it to police.
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“This is a recurring scam that preys on some of the most kind-hearted people in our communities – our grandmothers and grandfathers,” Mission RCMP media relations officer Harrison Mohr said in a news release. “These scammers are well-prepared and ultimately very convincing, and target vulnerable people whose first concern is about the welfare of their grandchild, not considering the possibility that they are being scammed.”
Mohr says it’s important to speak with parents, grandparents, friends and neighbours to spread the word about the scam.
Those with knowledge of scams are asked to contact Mission RCMP at 604-826-7161 while attempted scams where no money was lost can be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or to info@antifraudcentre.ca.
@dillon_white
dillon.white@missioncityrecord.com
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