Hamilton police say two men from Quebec were arrested on Tuesday for an attempt to defraud a 94-year-old man using a recently trending “grandparent scam.”
Investigators say the accused reached out to a 94-year-old man from Hamilton by phone, with one impersonating an RCMP police officer and the other the victim’s grandson.
The fraud involved the men telling the victim his grandson was arrested for having a large quantity of drugs in his vehicle and that a payment of $120,000 would have to be made for a bond.
“Another male, posing as the victim’s grandson, came on the phone franticly pleading with the victim to pay the bond, so that he could be released from police custody,” Const. Indy Bharaj explained in a release.
“Worried about his grandson, the victim agreed to pay a portion of the demanded bond money, as it was all he had at the time.”
Detectives say a female attended the victim’s residence on Tuesday, collected money and advised him there was a court-imposed “gag order,” and he was not permitted to notify anyone of what happened.
On Wednesday, the remainder of the money was requested by the alleged scammers, who asked for cash in an envelope to be dropped off at an undisclosed location.
Police became involved at this point and arrests were made.
The two accused, from Laval, are each facing a fraud over $5,000 charge. One is facing an additional offence for impersonating a peace officer.
Bharaj said some cash was lost in the scheme but did not say how much.