Latest news with #grandparentscam
CBC
6 days ago
- CBC
Family questions TD's fraud prevention after Winnipeg seniors lose $10K in grandparent scam
Social Sharing The daughter of two Winnipeg seniors who fell victim to a so-called grandparent scam say somebody at their bank should have noticed fraud was taking place when more than $10,000 was transferred on their behalf in the branch over two consecutive days. Carla Sasley said her parents, Sam and Cecile Victor, received a call in late July from someone pretending to be their grandson, telling them he'd been in a car accident. She said somebody who said they were his lawyer then got on the phone, telling them their grandson had hit a pregnant woman, was going to be charged with a crime and he needed money for bail. "It just sounded so true," said Cecile Victor. "When they asked for money, I thought if I don't send the money, they could hurt him." The Victors are both over 80. After the call, the grandparents went to their TD branch. They handed the teller a piece of paper with the scammers' account information and the amount they wanted to transfer. They made a second transfer the next day, after the scammers asked for more money. Sasley, who was once a banker and works as an investigator for the Real Estate Council of Alberta, said somebody should have realized something was up. "Nobody asked a question. Nobody even thought twice about it," Sasley said. "To me, there was no proper fraud training in place with those tellers and they were washing their hands of it … I think they really dropped the ball." Sasley said she learned Sunday the bank had wrapped up its investigation and it would not be transferring the money back because the cardholders authorized it. Sasley travelled from Calgary to Winnipeg to resolve the issue in person. She's still trying to get the bank to refund the money. A spokesperson for TD Bank said in an email the company couldn't comment on the specifics of this case but it takes this kind of activity very seriously. "The safety and security of our customers' information and accounts is a top priority for us," the spokesperson said, adding that the bank has controls in place, including ongoing training at its branches and technology to spot suspicious transactions. The spokesperson urged any customers who believe they may have been scam victims to report it immediately to their financial institution, as well as police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. In an email, Winnipeg police said it received a report about the fraud and has assigned its financial crime unit to follow up. Police said they continue to receive reports of grandparent scams and would like to raise awareness about the problem with the public. Scams lead to almost $820K in losses The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said scammers often use details people share on social media or dating sites. It said in an email that in the first half of 2025 it received more than 400 reports of fraud where the scammer's initial pitch involved an emergency, such as facing jail time or having been in an accident. The incidents resulted in more than $819,000 in losses. Last year, that kind of fraud — which includes grandparent scams — resulted in $3.2 million in losses. But the CAFC said it estimates only between five and 10 per cent of victims ever file a report with the centre. In Manitoba, there's been reports of the fraudsters meeting people in person and using AI-generated voices to better deceive their targets. Sasley said the scammers knew her son's name and made small talk that made things "sound legit." Cecile Victor said the person pretending to be the lawyer mentioned a Sunday family dinner. She said she and her grandson had indeed talked about dinner plans. "How could you not believe that?" she said. Sasley said a detail like that may be very common. She said her parents were told not to tell anyone about what was happening. She said they only told her after they asked the scammer pretending to be the grandson for his girlfriend's phone number, and he hung up. Sasley is encouraging people to call their loved ones to verify the authenticity of these calls. "When you're seniors, especially elderly seniors, they play on your emotions," she said. "And that's kind of the bottom line … Everything else is blinding after that."
CTV News
09-07-2025
- CTV News
Local landlord and alleged ringleader of scam arrested
London Watch A St. Thomas and London landlord was arrested for being an alleged ringleader of massive grandparent scam, reports CTV's Bryan Bicknell.
CTV News
08-07-2025
- CTV News
‘What right does he have to do what he did?' Absentee landlord and alleged ringleader of grandparent scam arrested in Quebec
'Lighting. And then there was light. And we also have water.' 'No problem,' said Wendy Nichols. The senior citizen has learned to relish the small things. She and dozens of other tenants at 14 Holland Street in St. Thomas were caught in the crossfire of an international manhunt for their former landlord. 'I'm very happy about him being arrested, because what right does he have to do what he did?' she asked. The 'he' she's talking about is Gareth West, the former landlord of her building. 070825 Gareth West's website: The self-described real estate builder and investment coach also happens to be the alleged ringleader of a sophisticated grandparent scam in the United States. West was arrested last Friday in Quebec. The 38 year old from Burlington, Ontario was among 25 Canadians charged by U.S. authorities for allegedly defrauding seniors in Vermont and 40 other states. West had been on the run since March, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Vermont. 'And the lies,' exclaimed Nichols. 'He came to my door, lied to my face, he told me he was a Christian man. Tried to buy me out up there,' she said. 070825 Wendy Nichols, tenant of 14 Holland Street, St. Thomas. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London) For tenants of the Holland Street three-storey walk-up, the trouble began when garbage started piling up outside the building this past spring. Then, for a brief period in June, the hydro and water were shut off due to unpaid bills, before the city intervened and had the utilities restored. 'That was very stressful,' said tenant Kim Doxtator, who uses a breathing machine. 'The hydro got shut off, the water got shut off. Even though that was only a few hours, for a lot of our tenants, that was a long time,' she said. Meanwhile, the experiences of tenants at a London apartment are all too similar to those of the tenants at 14 Holland Street in St. Thomas. 'He just came here one day and tried to con everybody by handing them $20,000 to move out,' said senior citizen Dennis Johnston, who lives at 308 Egerton Street in London. Tenants at this building also had Gareth West as their landlord, until he disappeared earlier this year. 070825 308 Egerton Street, London. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London) 'We found out about Gareth's alleged grandparent scam back in about June this year, when our hot-water heater gave out and left us without hot water for about a week and a half,' said tenant Andrew Foster, who lives at 308 Egerton with his partner and children. West's properties in London and St. Thomas have since been taken over by Mortgage company, Richmond Advisory Services. In the meantime, he is being held at a detention centre in Quebec pending a request for extradition to the U.S. by the Department of Homeland Security.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of running Canada's largest grandparent scam network arrested
Gareth West, the alleged leader of a network of grandparent scammers accused of defrauding $30 million from American seniors, has been arrested in Quebec. Investigators allege he ran a lucrative and complex grandparent scam network that employed dozens of people out of multiple Montreal-area call centres.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Yahoo
Las Vegas police disrupt ‘grandparent scam' where seniors lost thousands
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Several young men are accused of running a so-called 'grandparent scam' where older adults are convinced a family member, often a grandchild, is in jail and needs money to post bail or pay a lawyer, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. Matthew Acquah, Manuel Rivera and Ashton Turunc face charges connected to at least 16 thefts where the victim was over the age of 60, documents said. After convincing their victim to hand over large amounts of money, 'the suspects then [made] arrangements to have a rideshare… to pick up the money and deliver it to the suspects,' documents said. In all, police suspect the scheme netted the group nearly $186,000. 'There were over a hundred 'attempts' where the conspirator would give [the driver] an address, but no […] driver was ever sent,' documents said. 'Some addresses that were sent were from hours away from the Las Vegas area, including Reno, McGill, NV; Scottsdale, AZ; Fountain Hill, AZ; Washington, UT; [and] Saint George, UT.' In January 2024, a grandmother received a call from a person she believed was her grandson, documents said. The person on the call said her grandson was in jail and he needed $25,000 for bail, documents said. The woman withdrew cash from a bank and later handed it to a courier. 'After handing the envelope to the driver, she received a second phone call back, from the 'public defender,'' police said about the scam. 'The '[public defender] explained to [the victim] that her grandson had hit a pregnant lady and was losing the baby. Due to losing the baby, the bond had been raised an additional $10,000 and would be needed to get their grandson out of jail. She then went back to the bank, took out an additional $10,000, and packaged it the same way as the first package. After sending out the package, to a second driver, the caller explained that she would receive a phone call back… to let her know the outcome of her grandson's case. However, she never received another call.' Another victim took a photo of a suspect vehicle, leading them to a student at a Summerlin high school. Detectives also obtained text messages and Snapchat conversations that showed members of the group talking about the thefts and showing large amounts of cash, documents said. In one photo, one of the young men poses with several $100 bills and then 'kisses the bills and then licks his finger and rubs it over the camera lens,' police said. As part of their investigation, Metro detectives discovered a similar scam in Ventura County, California, they said. In one case, a woman in her 90s withdrew thousands of dollars from a bank, believing a relative needed 'bail money.' 'Both Rivera and Acquah are above the age of 18 during the commission of these crimes,' documents said. 'Rivera and Acquah were directing and instructing Turunc on where to pick up the money obtained fraudulently from these victims. They also provided Turunc with account numbers to deposit the money and instructed them to keep deposits under $10,000 to avoid reporting from the banks. Both Rivera and Acquah should have known Turunc was a minor due to him being in high school.' Court documents indicate Turunc was 17 at the time of the allegations. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit theft and theft, records said. Acquah and Rivera face charges of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretense and obtaining money by false pretense, records said. The FBI warns grandparents and grandchildren to limit their social media posts and keep them private, so scammers cannot exploit the relationship. Complaints can be filed with the FBI at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
