The BC RCMP Federal Policing Prevention and Engagement team said there’s an increasing number of seniors being targeted by frauds and scams.
They’re trying to educate seniors about some of the evolving scams they might encounter.
“One major one is this Emergency or Grandparent scam they call them. So they’d be calling seniors claiming a family member or grandchild was involved in an incident or criminally charged, they might pretend they’re law enforcement, and they’d request fees or fines to be paid for their family member to be released,” said Cpl Arash Seyed.
Seyed said there are other scams where people claim to be part of a government entity, a bank, or a shipping company, and will try to get payments from their victims.
The RCMP have a list of common scams on their website, as well as ways to help avoid them.
If you’ve been a victim to any of these crimes, Seyed noted that you should report it right away.
“They should also follow up with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and report it there. But that’s more for reporting purposes and connecting the dots. For investigational purposes it would be their local police department.”