Longueuil, Que., police have released the pictures of seven individuals suspected to be part of an ongoing provincewide grandparent scam, defrauding seniors of thousands.
The South Shore police force issued a warning to families and seniors Monday reminding the public to be wary of potential schemes.
They are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects.
While the photos taken were in the area of Longueuil, south of Montreal, the organized digital scheme spans the province, with cases in several municipalities, according to Longueuil officials.
Police say the elaborate scam has been ongoing for months and continues to evolve in complexity.
Get daily Montreal news
Communications officer François Boucher says the scheme occurs over the phone. The scammers target seniors, often pretending to be a young family member in need of help.
They ask for money, usually less than $5,000 to help bail out the supposed grandchild.
The thieves gather useful information found on social media to aid in making the bogus story more believable.
Boucher says the scheme is very convincing with multiple characters in the fake story doing followup calls from different numbers pretending to be lawyers and officials.
“They can often even change the name and title on the caller ID to make it even more convincing,” Boucher said.
Often the suspects will only ask for cash or physical bank cards with the corresponding PIN number, making it difficult to trace.
The photos of the suspects were taken from bank machines and lobby cameras during the physical money transfer.
Boucher said apprehending the assailants has proven difficult as cases are often not reported. Victims who have fallen prey to the ruse often do not contact authorities out of shame or embarrassment, Boucher said.
Longueuil police are urging people to contact them if they have been targeted.
Boucher says if caught in the situation, seniors should ask lots of questions. He also suggests hanging up the phone and contacting the family members the suspects are claiming to be to corroborate the story.
“Police officers or bank workers will never ask to collect cash or your PIN number,” Boucher said.
Police are also reminding the public to never hand over private banking information.