An 89-year-old Kamloops woman who was defrauded of $33,000 is the latest victim in what’s become a common con.
The woman sent the money over three weeks to a man she believed to be her grandson after he called claiming to have been in a serious car accident in Montreal, according to an RCMP press release.
The caller claimed to be her “favourite grandson” and when the woman provided a name, he said yes.
He then told her a compelling story about being involved in a serious car crash in Montreal and he needed money to help deal with the aftermath.
Over a three-week period, the con man called her regularly with updates to his situation each time asking for more money.
“The kind hearted grandmother made a total of 10 withdrawals from her bank account and sent the cash via Purolator and Fed-Ex to various addresses in Quebec,” said Staff Sgt. Grant Learned.
The Kamloops fraud case was forwarded to the RCMP commercial crime section in Montreal but investigators in both provinces are not optimistic the victim will ever see her money again, said Learned.
Suspects in these types of scams regularly rent multiple mail drop box addresses and use false identification in all components of their fraudulent endeavour.
“In an effort to prevent further heartache and loss, the RCMP is encouraging family members to discuss these incidents with their loved ones, particularly those with elderly parents and relatives who may not be aware of these fraud scams,” said Learned.
