The “grandparent fraud scam” involves an individual making a phone call to a senior and telling the senior their grandchild is in jail, and then asking for a large sum of bail money.
The St. Albert RCMP are warning the public about fraud this holiday season.
Police say there has been a rise in “grandparent fraud scams,” and the RCMP are encouraging residents to share information about fraud with friends, family, and seniors to aid in the prevention of such scams from occurring, according to a Nov. 18 press release
The grandparent fraud scam involves an individual making a phone call to a senior and telling the senior their grandchild is in jail.
The fraudster can be posed as a lawyer for the grandchild and will ask the senior for a large amount of cash. The fraudster then tells the senior they will pick the cash up at the senior’s home.
“St. Albert RCMP would like to advise the community that bail money can only be paid at a police station or at a courthouse,” said police.
In July 2022, St. Albert RCMP said they received a file from a “concerned grandparent.”
The grandparent had contacted St. Albert RCMP after being told their grandchild was in custody and they would need to pay a bail fee of $9,800 to get the grandchild out of jail.
“The grandparent was waiting at their residence with the money for someone to attend to collect the bail money,” said the RCMP in a release.
Police attended the residence after they recognized the…
