Nanaimo RCMP are sharing a recent incident of a resident falling victim to the “notorious grandson scam” in the hopes that it helps prevent future victims falling for the scam.
Police say the grandson scam has evolved, with scammers now asking for bitcoin rather than wire transfers of money.
According to Nanaimo RCMP, in mid-October a woman was led to believe her grandson had been jailed.
She reportedly sent $2,000 in bitcoin to have him released from police custody.
Police say the scam began with the victim receiving a phone call from a man who called himself Tom Scott.
This man told her that he was calling from out of province, and that the woman’s grandson had been arrested and that he had broken his nose.
After asking what she could do to help her grandson, she was given directions to a local bitcoin machine and provided with instructions on how to purchase and send the bitcoin.
The man then reportedly continued to call even after the money was sent.
Police say the victim’s granddaughter intercepted one of the calls to her grandmother and put an end to it, telling the man going by the surname Scott that the police had been called.
“If you receive a phone call from anyone claiming to be a law enforcement officer asking for bitcoin, money or gift cards, hang up and break off all communication—it’s a scam,” said R/Cst Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
The grandson scam is one of the more common and effective ways scammers will defraud British Columbians of money.
More information on the grandson scam and other scams are available on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s website.
