Peterborough police are reporting that elderly victims of the so-called “grandparent scam” were defrauded of around $17,000 in three separate but seemingly related incidents on Thursday (February 13).
In each case, victims in their 70s and 80s received a phone call claiming their grandchild was in trouble and needed money for bail. The calls were either from a person claiming to be the grandchild or a person claiming to be their grandchild’s lawyer.
The victims were told not to contact anyone else about the incident and, after they had the money, to call a phone number and an “agent of the court” would collect it.
In each of the three cases, the person who collected the money was a woman with a similar description: about five feet and eight inches tall with long dark hair and a slim face with dark eyes. She was wearing a dark, top, dress pants, and an “elegant” dark coat.
Victims described the woman as having a “very professional” demeanour who spoke with what is possibly a French accent. In one incident, she used the name “Sarah Marshall.”
The three incidents happened in the Brock Street and Reid Street area, the Dutton Road and Hilliard Street area, and the Whitaker Street and Armour Road area.
Police are asking anyone who lives in the areas above and has security cameras with footage between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Thursday to contact Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 ext. 555.
Anyone with information about these incidents or related ones is also asked to contact police.
You can also submit an anonymous report to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online stopcrimehere.ca.
