York Regional Police have released a video interview of a Newmarket senior who lost $100,000 in a grandparent scam in an effort to raise awareness of the increasingly common fraudulent activity.
“I didn’t feel any anger at what had happened. But I really wanted justice to be done, like to catch these thieves, to be brought to justice and that’s why I’m willing to do this,” victim Nicky, who used a pseudonym, said in the interview.
In the video, YRP Detective Sergeant Glenn Wright and Police Detective Leanne Guthrie are seen interviewing Nicky, whose identity is hidden by a shadow.
The 81-year-old goes on to talk about how he and his wife lost the large sum of money between March and May 2022.
In March, Nicky and his wife received a phone call from a person they believed to be their grandson.
He claimed that he had been arrested while riding as a passenger in his friend’s car, which, unknown to him, contained illegal drugs and a weapon.
Nicky was told that a judge requested bail money for his grandson’s release.
“And after he (grandson) got off the phone, a person identifying himself as an RCMP officer came on the phone and reiterated what my grandson had told us. He also said that the judge had issued a gag order on the proceedings due to the drugs involved. He asked that we not discuss it with anyone, not even anyone in our family,” Nicky said in the interview.
The fraudulent RCMP officer then asked Nicky and his wife to post a bail sum to release their grandson.
“So my wife and I decided that we would try to get him because he is our grandson. I mean, we didn’t think it wasn’t true. And there’s all that excitement, we decided that we would help him.”
The fraudulent RCMP officer instructed Nicky to put the money in an envelope and a courier would come to collect the funds.
Over the course of two months, the scammer persuaded the couple to make four separate payments to help their grandson.
Nicky said the officer claimed police found a gun in the vehicle, so he increased the bail amount issued by the judge.
“He had promised us at the beginning that once the gag order was lifted, we would get our funds back, which we believed.”
Nicky said that he and his wife have a great relationship with their grandson and that he is “more like a son” to them.
“He was our grandson. We felt we had to do it. His voice was that of our grandson. Then we found out that he was our grandson. That’s what we think.”
After two months of calling back and forth with the scammer, Nicky decided to call his grandson directly and that’s when he found out he was the victim of a scam.
“And I said, ‘What was the name of the detective who took you to the Toronto police station?’ He says ‘Which precinct?’ and I had this really uncomfortable feeling,” Nicky said.
“My original immediate response to him was OK, I see, I see we are being scammed,” he added.
Nicky and his wife alerted the police about the incident.
Nicky said throughout the two months that he never had a moment wondering if he was being scammed.
“I wonder how I missed some sign that there should be… I didn’t have a ‘Let me think about this for a second.’ I didn’t have one of those moments,” she said.
The couple currently live in a nursing home, which Nicky says has been understanding about their financial struggles during this time.
The scam has also taken the funds that the couple would have used to make a small annual trip within the province.
“So this would have been the month that we did that. Also, it coincided with our 50th anniversary and we couldn’t do it. So all of these things now have had to be pushed to the side… we’re getting it done, but just with a lot of tweaking,” Nicky said.
He said it has been a difficult time for his family, especially financially, but his Christian faith is helping him cope.
“There are two passages in the Bible that really stand out to me. It does what I am. One of them says ‘My God shall supply all my needs, according to his riches and glory.’ That means as much as these thieves took, there is still more available to me, however the Lord chooses to return it to me, to us,” he said.
“And then the other is that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord,” he added.
Nicky advises people who think they are being scammed to seek help and call someone who can confirm the truth.
YRP says Nicky is one of more than 50 grandparent scam reports in the region so far this year, a 100 percent increase from 2021.
Since 2019, grandparent scam victims have suffered a total loss of nearly $1 million.
“Although the recovery of funds lost through fraud is extremely rare, through this investigation and with the cooperation of financial institutions, police have helped recover $16,000 to date,” police said in a news release on Thursday. Thursday.
Investigators believe there are more victims in the region who have not yet contacted police.
Anyone who is a victim of fraud and has lost money should report the incident immediately to the Financial Crimes Unit, either online at www.yrp.ca/ReportIt or by calling 1-866-876-5423.
Frauds in which no money has been lost can be reported online to the Canada Anti-Fraud Center or by calling 1-888-495-8501.