‘Alarming’ new scam sees scammers go straight for seniors’ doors, Vancouver police warn | The Canadian News

Vancouver police are warning the public about a new “alarming” scam targeting seniors, in which the suspect physically comes to their homes.

Police say the suspect or suspects struck twice this week, in cases with nearly identical details and costing victims thousands of dollars.

Both incidents occurred on January 12 and involved someone calling the victim to tell her that a loved one, in one case a nephew and in the other a grandson, had been in a car accident, was in jail and needed money to get out. on bail. out of.

The victims, who were over 70 years old, accepted and withdrew the money, in one case $8,000 and in the other $9,000. The suspect then arrived at their homes, collected the money and left.

Const. of the Vancouver police. Tania Visintin said the technique is an escalation of tactics scammers have traditionally used, which rely on the phone or email.

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“They show up at the door, so it’s very brazen and very worrying of us. It puts people’s safety at risk,” he said.

Visintin said there was no violence in either case, but there is always a chance things could escalate.

He said it was unclear whether the scam involved a single person or an organized group, adding that the financial crimes unit was in communication with police in nearby jurisdictions, including Surrey, Burnaby, North Vancouver and Chilliwack, about reports. Similar.

Police released security video of a person of interest on Friday. While it doesn’t clearly show the man’s face, his voice is audible, and Visintin asked anyone who recognizes him to contact police.

The researchers are also asking people to warn the older people in their lives about the scam and that anyone who receives a call of this nature should hang up and call the police.