Grandparent scam: Edmonton woman explains how she fell victim to this common scheme

Edmonton resident Jody says she was scammed by someone pretending to be her grandson. CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa has her story.

An Edmonton woman says she was scammed by a man pretending to be her grandson.

Jody, who doesn’t want her full identity used, says she got a call on Jan. 26 that her grandson had been arrested and he needed money for bail.

She says the caller sounded just like her 21-year-old grandson.

“It was the mannerism, the voice, everything, like I was talking to my grandson,” she told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday.

She says the caller told her a lawyer would phone her in half-an-hour to set up a bond payment and asked her not to tell his parents.

“Please don’t tell mom and dad. I’m so embarrassed. Please don’t tell mom and dad.”

Jody said she got a call from the lawyer 30 minutes later.

The man, who identified himself as David, told her to withdraw cash from the bank.

“I wasn’t thinking. I went to two banks and got cash.”

She says she was prepared to drive to a bond office, but on her next contact with David, he told her someone would pick it up.

“‘We have an Uber driver. We have a bond guy coming right to your door’ and I gave the money, and off he went.”

“That’s when I realized, ‘Oh, my God, what did I do?’”

“As soon as he walked off, I texted my grandson, and then I knew it wasn’t him. I should have texted prior to that, but in my mind, he’s in jail.”

The scheme is what’s known as a grandparent scam.

The scammer targets an older person, claiming to be their grandchild in an emergency, and asks for money.

Jody said the scammer called back the next day, asking for more money.

She told the scammer she would go back to the bank, but she went to the Edmonton Police Service instead and filed a report.

CTV News Edmonton contacted the number Jody was given for David. It is out of service.

Grandparent scams underreported: police

Cpl. Troy Savinkoff of the Alberta RCMP says Mounties are investigating similar crimes.

“This is a type of fraud that does happen fairly frequently, unfortunately, across the province, across the country, in multiple countries, and it’s one that kind of pops up quite often,” he told CTV News Edmonton.

He says there are probably more instances of the crime than police are aware of.

“I think it’s something that, in a lot of cases, doesn’t get reported to the police, even when successful. I think people have a certain amount of embarrassment.

“It’s important to report this type of scam.”

Savinkoff also offered some tips to avoid becoming a victim of a grandparent scam.

“To pay bail, you have to go to a courthouse and pay bail in person. There would never be a courier collecting those things,” he said.

“If it’s somebody who’s supposed to be your grandchild, stop the conversation. Call your grandchild directly, and that way, you know that you’re actually speaking to the source.”

Savinkoff says education is the best weapon against scams.

“If we educate everybody, and they’re aware of this type of scam, they’ll know those very straightforward warning signs and know to be a little bit skeptical when these people approach you.”

The Edmonton Police Service said there were 26 reported cases of grandparent scams in 2025, down from 237 reports in 2024.

An EPS spokesperson attributes the low number in 2025 to underreporting.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa