Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 83 EMERGENCY (GRANDPARENT) FRAUD This particular fraud is very common and highly likely. It has been used successfully by con artists in Saskatchewan. Playing on the victim’s emotions, the con artist portrays someone who is crying and extremely upset. Con artists contact potential victims while posing as a family member or friend in urgent need of cash. Often the scenario involves an accident or arrest while traveling abroad. The con artist requests that cash be forwarded to him/her through a money transfer company such as Western Union or Money Gram. This fraud is predominantly directed toward grandparents, but variations of the fraud also use an old neighbor, a friend of the family, etc. There may be multiple contacts between the con artist(s) and the victim to solicit funds for various reasons. Two common variations used with this fraud are as follows: Emergency fraud (variation 1) In the typical scenario, a grandparent receives a phone call from a con artist who claims to be one of his/her grandchildren. The caller says they are in some kind of trouble, usually involving a car accident, returning from a foreign country, or needing bail money immediately. The victim (grandparent) wants to help his/her grandchild and sends money by a money transfer company such as Money Gram or Western Union. The victims do not verify the story until after the money has been sent as the caller specifically asks them not to tell anyone. Emergency fraud (variation 2) In this variation, compromised contact lists from hijacked email accounts are used to send the potential victim an “urgent” email request for money from a friend or relative with whom they have a correspondence. Common themes continue to be hospitalization or imprisonment while away from home. The victims do not verify the story until after the money has been sent because the caller specifically asks them not to tell anyone. The friend is unaware that their email account has been used to send out these requests to everyone on their contact list. A typical emergency fraud call might go like this: Con artist: Hi, Grandma/Grandpa. Victim: Hi. Con artist: Do you know who this is? Victim: John? Con artist: Yes, Grandma. Can you please help me? I am in jail / in the hospital / in some type of financial need. But do not tell Dad. He would be very upset with me if he found out. Please send the money as soon as possible. I am so scared and feel so alone here. What You Can Do About Emergency Fraud: • know if any family members or friends are traveling. • remain calm—the con artist is counting on you being upset in order for this fraud to work. • determine who the caller is allegedly portraying, hang up, then call the person or their family to verify if the portrayed person is traveling or in trouble. • contact the local police (if applicable) or the local detachment of the RCMP. Fraud Cent$ Toolkit for Seniors Helping Seniors Avoid Fraud
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