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Two more people have been charged in relation to a scam that has been targeting seniors for months.
The “grandparent scam”, as police have been calling it, targets seniors by calling them, saying someone they love — most often a grandchild or niece/nephew — is in danger or needs help and to send money.
On Oct. 3, a 74-year-old woman received one of these calls. The person on the other end claimed to be her nephew and said he had been in a collision and needed $9,800 to be released from custody.
The impersonator told the lady not to speak to anyone and was told how to send the money via an alleged “court courier,” police said.
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Christy Carlson, 31, was the one who showed up at the lady’s house to collect the money. She was charged with fraud over $5,000 on Nov. 30.
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The second incident took place a few days earlier on Sept. 28 when a 76-year-old woman got a call from someone again claiming to be her nephew who had been in a collision. Another person pretended to be a lawyer, telling the woman she needed to send $9,000 so her nephew could be released. Again, the money was to be sent by “court courier.”
In this case, 26-year-old Salena Harris arrived to pick up the money. She was arrested and charged on Dec. 1 for fraud over $5,000.
“In a case like this, always hang up the call and phone your family member directly to confirm whether the story is true. Never provide personal or financial information to an unknown caller or anyone whose identity you have not confirmed,” said Det. Pierre Lemire, of the Edmonton Police Service’s Investigative Response Section in a press release Wednesday.
Police ask that anyone who knows about a similar scamming incident to contact EPS or Crime Stoppers.
