Police have identified a new form of an old scam targeting senior citizens following two arrests in southern Alberta.
The evolution of technology has made some things easier, and artificial intelligence has become a tool for criminals.
Rob Miyashiro, executive director for the Lethbridge Senior Citizens’ Organization, says new scams are increasingly problematic for older generations.
“It’s unfortunate that seniors, who may not be as technologically literate as other people, are seriously going to be affected by new advances in AI and other technologies.”
Police say two men have been with fraud over $5,000 after elderly residents couriered money to scam artists who were using AI to mimic the voices of the victim’s grandchildren.
“What we frequently see is that they involve grandparents and their grandchild is in some sort of an emergency situation – whether they’ve been arrested for something or a car accident and they’re in the hospital and need to pay their hospital bills,” said Kevin Talbot, the sergeant in charge of the economic crimes unit of the Lethbridge Police Service.
He says fraudsters scour social media to find people online, take their voice from certain posts and then track down their grandparents and begin the scam.
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“They’re taking a recording of their voice if there’s a video or any kind of audio on that Facebook webpage or Instagram webpage and then they’re using AI to mimic that individual.”
Once the grandparents agree to pay the phony fees, the criminals hire couriers to pick up the cash.
“The ad simply was (to) go pick up money, keep a little bit of money for yourself and deposit the money into a bank account which is controlled by the scammers,” said Talbot.
He says the two men charged, both from southern Alberta, had responded to the job ad on Kijiji, though several red flags should have been raised long before they became embroiled in criminal activity.
Agencies that work with seniors urge people who receive emergency calls to speak with other family members to verify the story before sending money.
“We’re just trying to make sure that these grandparents or seniors let it ring right to their (voicemail), then listen to the message and then involve other family members to listen and make it a team effort,” said Charlene Kocken, senior systems navigator at Seniors Community Service Partnership.
Johan Wiebe Klassen, 31, of Stirling and Jordon Ian Henderson, 31, of Claresholm, have both been charged with possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000 in connection with the fraud. Both were released on an undertaking and are scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 23.
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