Stratford Police have reported an increase of “Grandparent scam” making their rounds in the community.
Most recently seeing one victim being stopped from withdrawing thousands of dollars when a staff member at BMO in St Marys recognized the customer was being scammed.
Grandparent scams occur when the victim receives a phone call or text from someone posing as their grandchild, acting in a frantic manner saying they were arrested or in an accident and need money to deal with the situation.
Some tips to avoid being a victim of this scam include to not say the person’s name until they identify themselves, ask the caller personal questions only the real person would know and never send money for payments via gift cards.
