Vancouver police are warning of a troubling and brazen new scam that has left three seniors out thousands of dollars for fake legal fees sa国际传媒 with the act being caught on a home security camera.
The scam, which was first reported on Jan. 12, targeted two groups of seniors in the same day. In the first instance, a couple in their 70s who live on the west side were called by a man who claimed their nephew had been in a car accident and needed $8,000 to get out of jail. The fraudster then went to the couplesa国际传媒檚 house where they gave him the money.
Later that day, police say a 75-year-old woman in Kitsilano was called with similar claims about her grandson. In this instance, the fraudster showed up and collected $9,000.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not uncommon for scammers to target the elderly by contacting them by mail, telephone, or online,sa国际传媒 said Const. Tania Visintin. sa国际传媒淲hatsa国际传媒檚 different and concerning is that fraudsters are now showing up at the victimssa国际传媒 doorsteps to collect cash. Itsa国际传媒檚 brazen, and wesa国际传媒檙e concerned about peoplessa国际传媒 safety.sa国际传媒
Both incidents are being probed by financial crimes investigators. Police have also released footage of a person of interest in the act, and is urging anyone with information to contact the VPD.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e reaching out to other police agencies to determine how far reaching this scam is,sa国际传媒 Visintin said. sa国际传媒淯ntil we know more, we urge everyone to be cautious about strangers who ask for money.sa国际传媒
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
Like us on and follow us on .