Two people from Montreal have been charged after two cases of the notorious grandparent scam took place in Sudbury on Tuesday, one of which defrauded a victim of at least $5,000. In the first case, Sudbury police were contacted at 5:10 p.m. from a woman who said she had been contacted by someone claiming to be her grandson. “The ‘grandson’ stated he was in jail and requested a substantial sum of money for bail,” Sudbury police said in a news release Wednesday. “The victim agreed to provide the funds, which were subsequently collected in person by two individuals at her residence.” Same scam reported one hour later Exactly one hour later, police received a second call from someone reporting a similar scam. “In this case, the victim received multiple phone calls from an individual whose voice closely resembled that of his grandson,” police said. “The ‘grandson’ was accompanied by others posing as a police officer and a lawyer, who requested a large cash payment and attempted to collect it in person. The victim did not provide any money and was able to provide police with detailed descriptions of the suspects and their vehicle.” Based on those descriptions, police located the suspects’ vehicle in the area of Paris and Regent streets later Tuesday evening. “Shortly before 11 p.m., patrol officers conducted a traffic stop on Long Lake Road,” police said. “A man and woman were arrested without incident and taken to police headquarters where they are being held in police custody. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed a large sum of cash, cellphones and multiple pieces of fraudulent identification.” Police spokesperson Sarah Kaelas told CTV that the money taken from the first victim has been recovered and will be returned to them at some point. May be more victims Charged are a 37-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman, both from Montreal. Both are charged with fraud over $5,000 – the man faces two counts – as well as possession of property obtained by crime. The man is also charged with violating probation and breaching a release order. The woman is also charged with driving while suspended. Both will be in bail court today (Aug. 20). “Investigators believe there may be additional victims associated with this fraudulent activity,” police said. Anyone who may have been victimized or who has information on this case is asked to call police at 705-675-9171. “Grandparent scams are designed to exploit emotional vulnerability and create a sense of urgency,” police said. “Scammers may use voice cloning technology or personal information obtained online to appear credible.” Learn more about protecting yourself from grandparent and other scams from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
