This scam is happening all across the region and police say you should never wire money, unless you know exactly where it is going. Police recommend having a conversation with elderly family members to warn them of these scams.
INGERSOLL - Grandparents from Ingersoll are out $12,000 after they were contacted by someone claiming to be their grandson.
The fake grandson told them he was in a motor vehicle accident and needed the money to avoid going to court. He told the victims to wire $9,600 wrapped in a newspaper through a courier service and to make sure you do not declare any funds of value when you send it through the courier service. The next day the couple was called by someone pretending to be a police officer who told them they needed to send another $3,000 to cover medical costs.
Constable Ed Sanchuk says you need to talk to loved ones about the grandparent scam.
"If you do have elderly parents, grandparents, do sit down with them and talk to them about this scam because it is prevalent in all of our communities right now and if you do get a call at 2 am or 3 am, do yourself a favour, contact your family first, before you send any money."
The OPP is warning all Oxford County residents that if they receive a call indicating that a relative is in trouble whether their vehicle has broken down or they are in jail in a far away town, please hang up the phone. This is a scam. Take the time to call someone who knows where the 'relative in trouble' might be and double check.
Don't become a statistic. Fraud is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that will only stop when the scammers stop getting money, banking information or personal information. The best thing to do is to simply hang up the phone.
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