The arrest of a suspect who allegedly scammed a Delta senior out of $10,000 last week doesn’t mean seniors in Burnaby are safe, according to local police.
The Delta grandmother had gotten a series of calls on Jan. 13 from someone claiming to be with the RCMP and saying she urgently needed to provide bail money for her grandson, whose name the caller knew, according to a Delta police news release.
The senior handed over $10,000 to a person who collected the cash in person at her house.
When the suspect came back the next day to collect another $25,000 for “probation,” however, plain clothes officers were waiting and a 22-year-old woman was arrested, police said.
#VPDNews: #VPD are investigating a new scam that tricks seniors into thinking their loved ones have been arrested and convinces them to hand over thousands of dollars for legal fees.
— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) January 14, 2022
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 604-717-0503. https://t.co/O7IS3qwc1O pic.twitter.com/9IG21RfdZu
Since there was a similar incident reported in Burnaby this week, however, it doesn’t appear the woman’s arrest has lessened the risk to seniors here, according to the Burnaby RCMP.
On Jan. 19, a 71-year-old woman in Burnaby reported she had been called by a person she didn’t know, asking for $8,500 to get her nephew out of jail, according to police.
But, in this case, the senior spoke to her bank, which advised her it was a common scam, police said.
She also spoke with her nephew who was safe and at work.
“In this case, we are grateful the intended victim didn’t hand any money over and reported the incident to police,” Burnaby RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Mike Kalanj told the NOW in an email.
He urged local residents to talk to their loved ones, “especially if they are seniors,” to warn them about the latest fraud technique.
“Anyone who receives a similar phone call should hang up and call police,” Kalanj said.
Delta police said they are working with other Metro Vancouver police departments to determine if the Delta incident is linked to others in the region.
Last Friday, Vancouver police released a video of a suspected fraudster allegedly perpetrating the same scam in that city.
“We’re reaching out to other police agencies to determine how far reaching this scam is,” stated the Vancouver Police Department news release.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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