Police across the Lower Mainland are urging people to be vigilant after a spate of scams.
Late last week a West Vancouver senior fell victim to the so-called “grandparent scam” in which someone calls up claiming to be a grandson or granddaughter in urgent need of money.
In this case, the fraudster convinced the woman he had been in a serious car crash and would be facing criminal charges unless she purchased a $40,000 Rolex watch and mailed it to him in Quebec.
Fearing for her grandson, the woman complied. The watch is now gone and it’s unlikely the culprit will be found, according to West Vancouver police.
West Vancouver Police Department spokesman Const. Jeff Wood said seniors should not hesitate to call police for help if they get such a call.
The RCMP meanwhile are warning of a scam targeting Chinese nationals living in the Lower Mainland. There have been six reported incidents of Chinese students in Metro Vancouver receiving automated calls purporting to be from the government of China. The caller attempted to coerce the victims under threat of harm coming to their families back home. Simultaneous calls are also made to the victims’ families, warning that their children in Canada have been kidnapped and being held for ransom.
North Vancouver RCMP say they have received one report of a local Chinese person receiving a fake call from a caller claiming to be a police officer in China, demanding her passport number and banking information.
The Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China released a statement saying that “no phone call will be made to verify any personal information, especially the personal banking information.”
