Waterloo Regional Police in Ontario say a Montreal man has been arrested in connection with a grandparent scam being attempted in North Dumfries.
According to police, members of the organized financial crimes unit were called in after a grandparent scam had been reported.
They say the victim, a 71-year-old man from North Dumfries, was contacted by scammers who claimed that his grandson had been taken into custody and needed $15,000 to get bailed out of jail.
The victim sensed that there was fraud being attempted and called police. Officers arrived to intercept the transaction and made an arrest.
Police say a 30-year-old man from Montreal has been charged with fraud over $5,000 and possession of counterfeit money.
According to police, the grandparent scam generally involves perpetrators calling an older person and claiming to be a grandchild or someone else they know while purporting that they are in distress.
The scammer then says they need money to pay for some trouble they have gotten into such as a car crash or an arrest. They then ask for money to be shipped via courier, wire transfer or gift cards to help them out of their jam.