Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) East Region is warning residents about a rise in fraud cases across eastern Ontario.
This includes a resurgence of the “Grandparent Scam” in the Grenville area, where fraudsters claim to be someone the individual knows — like a grandchild — telling the victim the money is urgently needed, police said.
An older resident in Township of Edwardsburgh Cardinal received a call yesterday, with the caller claiming that a family member was seeking financial help after a collision — to ensure the car was fixed before police were made aware of the accident.
The scammer then offered to pick up the funds from the victim’s home, once they returned from the bank.
But after speaking with a family member, the senior resident was able to confirm it was a scam before the money changed hands.
According to OPP, there has also been a rise in the Bank Investigator fraud in Ontario’s east region.
“OPP continues to receive reports from victims who have been contacted by fraudsters claiming to be bank investigators from their financial institution, local law enforcement or one of their online merchants,” wrote OPP in a post on X.
Often, scammers will ask for an individual’s help in an ongoing “investigation” against criminals who have compromised their bank accounts.
They will ask victims to deposit money or send funds overseas. It is not until the transfers are complete that victims realize their accounts had not been compromised in the first place. In efforts to make the call seem legitimate, some suspects will provide some of the victim’s personal information, including name, date of birth, phone number, address and/or debit card number.
Additionally, suspects often convince victims to send an Interac e-transfer transaction to their own cellphone number.
Fraudsters will provide instructions on the steps to follow to add themselves as a payee, as well as how to increase their daily Interac e-transfer limited to $10,000, warned OPP.
Scammers will then provide the e-transfer question and answer the victim will use for the transfer.
The victim will be instructed to send an Interac e-transfer to their own cellphone number, and suspects will ask the victim for the last portion of the Interact e-transfer URL (link) received.
Once fraudsters receive this information, they have the ability to deposit the funds into their own accounts.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), fraudsters will often:
- Claim to be law enforcement officials, lawyers and impersonate the grandchild/family member
- Use urgency and threats to convince victims to take out money
- Claim that there is a “gag order” preventing the victim from speaking about the situation
- If a victim agrees to pay the requested amount (cash or cryptocurrency), fraudsters will arrange to pick up the funds in person or will ask the individual to send cash in the mail
“Overall, frauds are becoming more sophisticated and brazen, with fraudsters impersonating businesses, government agencies, law enforcement and law firms,” said John Armit, Acting Detective Sergeant Anti-Rackets Branch, OPP.
Incidents reported to the OPP often involve elderly victims and they will require supports in recovering from fraud, even when no financial losses occur, he added.
From January 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024, victims reported losing over $5.6 million to “Bank Investigator fraud.” CAFC reported that total losses were over $10.9 million in 2023.
Additionally, it is estimated that only five to 10 per cent of victims report frauds to the CAFC or law enforcement, according to CAFC.
Ontario Provincial Police outline the warning signs of fraud and provide suggestions on how residents can protect themselves, including:
- Financial institutions or online merchants will never request residents to transfer funds to an external account.
- If a resident receives a call claiming to be from their financial institution, they should advise the caller that they will call them back. End the call and dial the number on the back of their bank or credit card from a different phone if possible or wait 10 minutes before making the outgoing call.
- Fraudsters use call-spoofing technology to mislead victims. Do not assume that phone numbers appearing on your call display are accurate.
- Residents should never provide remote access to their computer or smart phone.
“The best tool law enforcement has to tackle cyber enable frauds is through awareness and education,” said Armit.
OPP is asking that anyone who may have been a victim of fraud, to report the incident to local police service and to the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501 or online on the Fraud Reporting System (FRS).