Port Moody senior nearly swindled by scam
A Port Moody man was nearly tricked out of thousands of dollars by the “senior scam,” which tries to prey on older people in the community.
Police say someone called an elderly man on Thursday, pretending to be an officer. They told the senior a family member was in custody and needed money for bail.
The man went to the bank and withdrew $12,000 from his account, and police say that’s he sensed something might not be right.
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Before calling the suspect back to make arrangements to hand over the money, the senior reached out to Port Moody police, who confirmed it was indeed a scam. An officer then went with the senior as he deposited the money back into his account.
“Thankfully this elderly man had the wherewithal to contact police prior to handing over this cash to the would-be fraudster, however, often times these incidents do not end on a positive note,” said Const. Sam Zacharias.
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Every year, there are several reports of seniors being scammed out of cash, with fraudsters lying about a loved one needing money to get out of legal trouble.
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In January, Vancouver police reported the latest version of the scheme was hitting too close to home, as they were showing up at their victims’ doorsteps to collect.
They shared stories of two instances where unwitting seniors handed over thousands of dollars after they were told a family member had been in a car accident and needed the money to get out of jail.
They shared video footage of one of the incidents happening.
Watch: Vancouver police share surveillance footage of scammer taking off with seniors’ money
“It’s brazen, and we’re concerned about people’s safety,” said VPD Const. Tania Visintin at the time.
Police urge everyone to be cautious about strangers who ask you for money.
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“Police will not call family members asking for bail money and should you encounter a situation like this, please contact your local police,” Zacharias added.
