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Bank employees credited with preventing elderly Kitchener woman from falling victim to grandparent scam

People walk past a Scotiabank branch in Toronto on April 10, 2018. T. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Waterloo Regional Police are applauding bank employees for preventing an 87-year-old Kitchener woman from falling victim to the grandparent scam.

According to a release, the woman was contacted over the phone by the scammers on Tuesday, when they told their target that her grandchild had been arrested and would need $20,000 in bail money.

The dupesters also convinced the grandmother that she should not tell the bank employees why she was taking the money out to avoid suspicion.

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The woman then went to the Scotiabank on Krug Street in Heritage Park where she attempted to pull the money out of her account, but this is when the employees stepped in.

Police say, they had previously trained the employees to stop this type of scam and they recognized what was going on and put a stop to it.

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They prevented the woman from losing any money while also providing her with support as well, according to police.

Police say this is just one of 46 grandparent scam reports that it has received in 2023 alone.

“If you believe you have been a victim of a similar scam, you can file a complaint with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or contact Waterloo Regional Police at 519-570-9777,” the release said.

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