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SAANICHNEWS Friday, April 4, 2014
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Running start Saanich Wolverines running back Isaiah Cardilicchia tries to fight off a tackler from the Cowichan Bulldogs during jamboree play in Esquimalt. Learn more on page A19 Richard Jomha photo
Cash company thwarts grandparent scam Daniel Palmer News staff
Betty Clarke was going about an otherwise normal day when her home phone rang. The man on the other end of the line claimed to be her grandson, Dalyn, and said he’d just been in a serious car accident in Quebec. “He said there was quite severe damage that was going to cost just under $2,000, and this had to be deposited to an account right
away,” said Bob, Betty’s husband. The retired Saanich couple panicked. They stopped at their credit union then headed to a local Money Mart to wire the cash as instructed. It was there an astute employee told the couple they were about to become the next victims of an increasingly popular fraud operation: the grandparent scam. “Apparently a lot of phone calls like this come from Quebec, so when Betty told them she was
sending the money to Quebec, the clerk said, ‘Wait a minute.’” The Clarkes headed to the police station, where officers told them the problem is proliferating across Greater Victoria and Canada. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received more than 43,000 complaints and tracked 11,700 victims of fraud in 2013, the most recent statistics available. Those numbers have held relatively steady since 2011, but grandparent or “emergency” scams are now listed as the
third-most frequent scam behind false prizes and offers for lower interest rates. “Several of these types of scams have been caught at the point of the money transfer by people employed by the money transfer businesses, and we are appreciative of the fact they have intervened,” said Sgt. Steve Eassie of Saanich Police. PlEASE SEE: Astute staffer saves ... Page A4
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