Olds RCMP are issuing a warning to seniors about a scam that has been making the rounds throughout the area on a sporadic basis that mostly targets seniors.
Commonly referred to as the grandparents scam, fraudsters impersonate a relative of an elderly victim and phone the victim, saying they are in some kind of distress and need money to be able to extricate themselves from a situation.
There were three such calls made to victims in the Olds area on Jan. 27 and 28. Often, the scammers are asking for thousands of dollars to be wired to them. In many cases, police say, the calls originate from eastern Canada.
ìThey usually make up a story that they're in jail or they've been involved in something and need some money,î said Cpl. Troy Byrt, who added that some of the most recently targeted victims did wire money.
Police say one of the red flags that should go up is receiving a call from a phone number that victims don't recognize. Another is receiving a call from an individual whose voice the victim doesn't recognize.
ìUsually what happens is that when the scam artist makes his call, he poses his question in such a fashion that it's kind of open-ended and Ö typically they don't give a lot of information,î he said.
Byrt recommends that people who have been targets phone their relatives to confirm the story before sending any money. He said in many cases, potential victims might not be aware of the circumstances of their relatives and fall prey to the scam.
ìWe've seen an increase in these types of scams,î Byrt said of the RCMP generally. ìThey're becoming more frequent.î
