Police are once again warning Vancouver residents of a scam targeting seniors after tens of thousands of dollars were lost to fraudsters this week alone.
In a news release Thursday, the Vancouver Police Department said a "bail money" scam has resurfaced.
It involves fraudsters who are posing as police officers and scamming seniors by convincing them to hand over bail money for a loved one who has been arrested, police said.
"This is a new variation of a scam VPD first told people about earlier this year," said Sgt. Steve Addison in the release. "These fraudsters are still finding success by preying on vulnerable people and convincing them a loved one is in jail."
Addison said so far this week, officers have received five reports from seniors who have either been scammed or have been contacted by the scammers.
"We believe there are a number of scammers who are working together, and likely using social media to find personal details about their victims," said Addison.
"The scammers often know the names of the victims' family members, and in one recent case knew that a victim's relative was on vacation in another country."
In one of the cases this week, police said a man claiming to be a police officer reportedly contacted a 61-year-old Kitsilano woman on Tuesday morning and said her nephew was in jail. He convinced the woman to hand over $15,000 in cash for a "gag order."
Another incident that same day involved a 70-year-old woman living downtown, who received a call from someone claiming to be a police officer. The fraudster demanded $10,000 in bail money, claiming the victim's niece had been in a car accident and was found to be in possession of marijuana. Police said the victim met with the scammer and handed over the cash.
The next day, the scammer reportedly attempted to get the woman to hand over another $45,000, but a bank teller convinced the victim to call police.
In another incident on Tuesday, a caller pretending to be an officer in charge told a 74-year-old man from Renfrew Heights to pay $11,000 in bail money for his son, who the fraudster claimed had been found in a vehicle with drugs.
In that case, the senior didn't believe the story and told the scammer he was calling 911.
On Wednesday morning, police said a Kerrisdale woman in her 80s received a call from two men, one claiming to be the woman's grandson and the other claiming to be a police officer.
The scammers convinced the senior to pay $12,000 to get her grandson out of jail following a marijuana arrest. She gave the cash to someone posing as a courier who came to her house.
Another incident on Wednesday involved an elderly husband and wife in the West End, who received a call from a man also claiming to be a police officer. The fraudster provided a fake badge number and told the couple that their son had been arrested for impaired driving.
The victims provided their home address to the scammer and handed over $10,000.
“Often the scammers will convince their victims not to talk to others by suggesting there is a gag order in place, or by telling them to use a code word when they’re handing over cash,” said Addison.
Vancouver police are asking anyone with information about this scam or similar ones to come forward.
