Police donsa国际传媒檛 typically field a lot of scam phone calls, but this week operators at the Nanaimo RCMP detachment received multiple calls from people asking if their grandchildren were being held in the detachmentsa国际传媒檚 cells.

The calls were spurred by a wave of grandson scam attempts in Nanaimo and other Island communities.

sa国际传媒淲e had 20 calls yesterday,sa国际传媒� said reserve Const. Gary Osa国际传媒橞rien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson. sa国际传媒淭hose who got conned lost between $3,000 and $8,000.sa国际传媒�

The grandson scam involves criminals calling a potential victim, pretending to be their grandson and claiming to be in trouble with the law, often in a foreign country. They say they need several thousand dollars to cover bail and legal defence costs, and another scammer pretending to be a defence lawyer or assistant then comes on the line to instruct the victim on how much money is needed and how to transfer the funds.

This time, Osa国际传媒橞rien said, the scammers were claiming to be in jail in Nanaimo.

Voices in the calls impersonated grandsons, granddaughters, police and even the Embassy of Canada to the Dominican Republic.

sa国际传媒淚t actually was friend of mine who called in. Hesa国际传媒檚 quite an astute guy, too. He said [he was 95 per cent sure] it was a fraud, but they used AI to [mimic] his niecesa国际传媒檚 voice sa国际传媒� He said it sounded just like his niece,sa国际传媒� Osa国际传媒橞rien said. sa国际传媒淪he was sa国际传媒榓rrested and in jailsa国际传媒� in the Dominican Republic and they had an sa国际传媒榦fficial with Canadian consulsa国际传媒� call in.sa国际传媒�

Other scam stories involved someone who was in jail after being involved in a vehicle accident involving a pregnant woman, and someone who said they were taken into custody because they were a passenger in car in which drugs were seized.

sa国际传媒淭he other ones were impersonating a police officer sa国际传媒� They also had legal assistants on, so it went from the grandson to the lawyer to the legal assistant who provided the detail on the [money] wire and the 10-digit transaction number,sa国际传媒� Osa国际传媒橞rien said. sa国际传媒淲e had one woman call in from a local chartered bank and the bank refused to give the money out. They said you have to call the RCMP and it took about 20 minutes to convince her that it was actually a fraud.sa国际传媒�

Osa国际传媒橞rien said ages of the victims who fell for the scam varied from their 50s to 80s and for those who lost money, theresa国际传媒檚 little the RCMP can do to help them other than create a file about the theft.

sa国际传媒淭he moneysa国际传媒檚 been wired out and unless they go immediately to their chartered bank with the file number, theresa国际传媒檚 not much the bank can do,sa国际传媒� Osa国际传媒橞rien said. sa国际传媒淥ften the bank will try to assist them.sa国际传媒�

To learn more about online fraud and telephone scams, how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud or what steps fraud victims should take, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at . Victims can also report frauds by calling 1-888-495-8501. Fraud victims should also contact the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345.

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