Two folks in southern Ontario are out greater than $10,000 after falling sufferer to a grandparent rip-off that noticed somebody go to their houses pretending to be a bondsperson to select up money, police say.
Ontario Provincial Police in Perth County say earlier this month, two folks have been contacted on the telephone by somebody who claimed to be a lawyer. The particular person advised them a member of the family was in jail after a collision and wanted bail cash.
The lawyer advised the victims a bondsperson would come to the home to get the cash.
“In each instances, the particular person of curiosity attended the victims’ houses to gather money in particular person, after the victims had attended a financial institution,” Perth County OPP mentioned in a launch on Monday.
One particular person handed over $5,000 whereas the opposite particular person gave the pretend bondsperson $5,500, police say.
The person who went to the houses was describe as a person between the ages of 20 and 50, between 5 ft 5 inches tall and 5 ft 10 inches. He was carrying all black clothes together with a black tuque.
Police are reminding folks to remember these scams can occur and be cautious of comparable emergency telephone calls.
“In this sort of emergency name, the grandchild or little one on the telephone may state they’ve damaged their nostril within the collision, and that’s the reason their voice sounds completely different,” police mentioned.
OPP additionally remind folks in the event that they obtain an unsolicited telephone name or message that asks for private data equivalent to birthdays, banking data or a SIN quantity, do not present that data and dangle up. Additionally, don’t conform to pay any bills by way of reward playing cards or cryptocurrency.
“Reputable organizations don’t obtain funds by reward playing cards of any kind,” police mentioned.
Anybody who thinks they’ve fallen sufferer to a rip-off ought to contact police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
