Halifax police say suspect in scams against seniors also wanted in Vancouver

Halifax Regional Police are warning the public about a scam that has defrauded dozens of seniors over the last few months.

Police are looking to identify a suspect who is wanted for similar crimes in Vancouver.

“In our area over the past few months, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been lost,” said HRP spokesperson Const. John MacLeod.

The scam targets seniors, with the suspect pretending to be loved ones in need of bail money.

“What they’re asking the seniors to do is act immediately and provide cash so they can get this person released,” explained MacLeod.

Ron Hayward, the chair of the Financial Security Advocacy Committee for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), said it’s a well-known scam that unfortunately still works.

“You ask anybody about the grandparents scheme, ‘Have you heard of it?’ ‘Oh yes, yes, but I wouldn’t fall for that.’ Yet, they are falling for it,” he said.

“And that really bothers us that there are people out there who take advantage of kind, good people.”

HRP’s financial crime unit has received dozens of scam reports, and in some cases, scammers are even claiming to be a police officer or lawyer collecting bail.

“It’s not something we do, and we want the public to know that they should never expect us to show up at your door and ask for money to have someone released,” said MacLeod.

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Police have previously charged a person found in New Brunswick in relation to these calls, but there are others involved.

“We have released their photograph and their description to the public. And again, this is just one of the individuals that is showing up. We would like to get this person identified and get them charged,” he said.

The suspect is described as a Black man in his 20s or 30s, about six feet tall with short dark hair.

HRP confirmed that they’ve been working with the Vancouver Police Department because it’s believed the Halifax suspect is the same person wanted for similar crimes out west. 

“We’ve always known that these scammers are prolific and they move around, and that’s one of the things that makes these cases really difficult to solve,” said Sgt. Steve Addison with the Vancouver Police Department.

“It’s because these scammers are moving in and out of Vancouver, in and out of other major cities, and in a lot of cases moving right across the country back and forth.”

Meanwhile, Hayward is warning seniors to be vigilant.

“If you get a phone call and don’t know the number, don’t answer it. If you get into a situation like we talked about, call a trusted friend, call the police, call somebody and say, ‘Is this for real?'”