Police cautions after West Vancouver senior loses $5,000 to ‘Grandparent Scam’

Police are warning the public to be on alert after a West Vancouver senior was defrauded of $5000 in a scam known as the “Grandparent Scam.”

On January 20, 2022, the 82-year-old victim received a phone call from a man who claimed to be his grandson. The fraudster claimed that he had been arrested and was in need of bail money. The phone was then handed over to another man who claimed to be the grandson’s lawyer.

The fraudsters were able to convince the victim to withdraw $5000. The victim then received another phone call stating that someone would attend his residence to collect the money. Within minutes, a suspect showed up at the victims’ door and took the cash.

“This is extremely unfortunate,” says Cst. Kevin Goodmurphy. “Seniors are often targeted by scammers who do their best to confuse the victim and exploit their vulnerabilities in an effort to steal their money.”

The suspect is described as:

Caucasian male, late 20’s, approx. 5’9” tall, with slim build, dark brown medium length hair, wearing dark clothing and glasses.

“What’s concerning about this incident in particular, is that the fraudster attended the victims’ residence to collect the money,” says Goodmurphy. “Typically, victims are asked to send the money via an online transaction, with no in-person meeting.” “This tells us that they are becoming quite brazen in their approach.”

Anyone who receives a phone call from someone who claims to be a relative in distress and urgently in need of money, is encouraged to hang up and call the relative back themselves.

This file is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to call the West Vancouver Police at 604-925-7300 (File 22-636). If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or visit solvecrime.ca.