A man has been arrested in connection with a “grandparent scam” that resulted in a total of nearly $43,000 being stolen from victims, Toronto police say.
Police said in a statement that between March 2 and 7, victims received calls from a person claiming to be their grandchild.
The phone was then passed to a person pretending to be a police officer or lawyer who demanded money for the release of their grandchild, police allege, adding that the victims were told not to talk about what happened to anyone.
Police said the victims were then told to hand money over to a “courier” who would go to their home.
A man was arrested when attending the home of one of the victims, police said.
Investigators believe the total cumulative loss to the victims is $42,900.
Twenty-four-year-old Nikolaos Antonopoulos of Quebec was arrested Monday and charged with five counts of fraud over $5,000.
He is scheduled to appear in court on May 2.
“The Toronto Police Service is requesting anyone who receives this type of call or solicitation to contact police,” the statement said.
“Police never contact family members and request cash bail or send someone to their home to pick up bail money.”
Anyone who believes they were a victim is asked to contact the investigator via email at 7942@tps.ca.
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