Canadian cops apprehend scam artists

SANDPOINT — Canadian authorities have apprehended a cadre of scam artists accused of perpetrating telephone fraud operation that ensnared a Sandpoint couple last month.

Seven people in Ontario connected to the so-called Grandson Scam, also known as the Emergency Scam, were arrested and more than $20,000 Canadian was seized, Halton Regional Police said.

Halton investigators said the ring targeted elderly victims across North America by posing as a grandson in trouble with the law and in need of quick cash to bail out of jail. Most of the victims were U.S. residents, although some Canadians were also victimized, Halton police said.

The ring, which operated out of several communities on the north shore of Lake Ontario, is responsible for as a much $3 million in fraudulent takings, Halton police said. The defendants allegedly made as many as 200 calls a day, successfully targeted 15-20 victims and defrauding them of between $2,500 to $6,000 each.

“The Emergency Scam targets seniors, one of our most vulnerable populations, and cruelly plays upon their emotions to bilk them out of thousands of dollars,” Halton Regional Police Service Chief Gary Crowell said in a Feb. 23 news release.

Compounding matters, Crowell said, was that less than 5 percent of the victims reported the crimes because of embarrassment over being duped.

A Sandpoint couple who asked not to be identified fell victim to the scheme, but felt compelled to alert authorities and the media so that others would not get caught up in the chicanery.

The couple said they received a call on Feb. 17 from somebody claiming to be their grandson. The caller did not identify himself by name but spoke in voice that was strikingly similar to their grandson.

“He reported that he had some bad news that he wanted us to keep confidential between ourselves,” the couple said.

The caller explained that he was an occupant in a vehicle that was stopped for a traffic violation in suburban Toronto. The vehicle contained a substantial amount of marijuana, resulting in his arrest.

“That he was in Canada didn’t surprise us, especially since he’d taken trips elsewhere without reporting to us that he was doing so. We hadn’t asked him to,” the couple said.

The caller said he needed $6,000 for bail so he could be released pending trial, but cut short the conversation and claimed that he couldn’t speak further because an officer was standing by to detail how the money was to be paid.

The supposed officer, who used the surname Steely, reassured the couple that their grandson had passed a drug test and that he might escape prosecution because the drugs actually belonged to the vehicle’s driver.

The couple was directed to send the bail money via Western Union to a bondsman in Nashville, Tenn. When the couple questioned why the money was to be wired to Tennessee, Steely explained that the bond company was the low bidder in a competitive bid process utilized by the agency.

The couple remained convinced that they were helping their grandson.

“The voice was his and the way he reported his alleged experiences with the police was in character,” the couple said, adding that their interactions with Steely were genuine.

Steely went so far as to say that their bail money, in addition to the wire service fee, would be refunded.

“On several occasions where we raised questions, his answers were convincing and reassuring and allayed any suspicions we may have been harboring,” the couple said.

After the money was wired, Steely advised the couple that a judge had ruled that the driver would be prosecuted and charges against their grandson would be dropped upon immediate payment of a $3,500 fine, which would eliminate the need for their grandson to return to Toronto to square things up.

“By now, our suspicions of a scam had accelerated to the point where we were convinced that we had been victimized,” said the couple, who kept their suspicions to themselves.

The couple did not make the second wire transfer and as soon as they hung up the phone with Steely, they put in a call to their grandson — something they admit they should have done from the outset.

“When we told of what had happened, his first response was to say, ‘If that had happened to me, I would have been blubbering when I called you,’” the couple said.

The couple’s next calls were to Sandpoint Police, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, Western Union and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

“As might be expected, we have been devastated by the experience, by the loss of money, of course, but even more by being made aware of how vulnerable we are,” the couple said. “The thought that we were rather stupid in not having sensed the scam earlier than we did also crossed our mind, but we try not to dwell on that.”

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Don't be a victim

The Idaho Attorney General’s Office recommends following the three Cs if you receive a frantic call from a grandchild who claims to be in trouble:

n Calm down — Being agitated or upset clouds your judgment. Take a few deep breaths and evaluate the situation

n Contact — Call your grandchild’s home or mobile phone and the child’s parents. When caller says, “I don’t want my parents to know,” it is a scammer’s technique to keep you from discovering the truth

n Confirm — Verify your suspicions. People who don’t fall victim to this scam find out where their grandchild is.