Halifax District RCMP and Halifax Regional Police continue to warn the public about scams occurring in the Halifax Regional Municipality, instructing victims to provide money.
Since mid-December, police have received numerous complaints of frauds, which are sometimes referred to as the 'grandparent scam' or 'emergency scam.' Victims are contacted in a perceived urgent situation and instructed to provide money to alleviate a bad circumstance of a loved one such as, but not limited to, being in jail or in a car accident.
In some of these incidents, victims have given up thousands of dollars.
Police want to highlight that authorities in Canada do not solicit release of someone for money and are reminding the public these fraudsters are very good at what they do; they're believable.
To protect themselves against these frauds, people can:
- Slow things down, reach out to other relatives and review the situation together, and contact authorities if need be. Fraudsters create a sense of urgency.
- Never offer information to the caller (e.g., if you believe it might be a family member calling, don't say the person's name before they identify themselves).
- Ask the caller personal questions that only the real person would know.
- Attempt to contact the family member in question.
- Refuse to send e-transfer money, gift cards, credit card numbers, crypto currency, such as Bitcoin, or anything else of value in 'urgent situations.'
- Be careful to not drop their guard because the number on their caller ID looks familiar or legitimate. Scammers can spoof telephone numbers and make it appear they're calling from a trusted source.
- Contact the authority represented through a legitimate contact source, not the one provided by the contactor (e.g., the phone number listed on an official website or phonebook).
- Stop communicating with the caller if they have a feeling something is not right. If in doubt, people should hang up or delete and do not continue communication.
Anyone who thinks they could be a victim, knows someone who could be a victim, or has information about these scams, is encouraged to contact police at 902-490-5020 and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm.
File #: 22-150557