Two teens from Milton are each facing several charges in connection with a “grandparent scam” that saw a victim from Niagara Region defrauded of a large sum of money, police say. Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) say on Sept. 4 uniform officers were called to an address in the town of Pelham for a fraud call. Investigators say the caller indicated that they were the victim of a “grandparent scam” and were out a large sum of money. The victim told police that they received a call on Sept. 3 from someone purporting to be their nephew. “That person claimed to have been arrested while being driven home by an acquaintance and required bail money,” NRPS said in a news release. Police say the “nephew” arranged for a person to come by the victim’s home to pick up the funds. The victim took out the money and a male working for a legitimate courier/delivery company showed up to collect it. “The courier then delivered the money to one of the suspects, unaware the package contained proceeds of crime,” police said. The victim then reported receiving a second call from the same person claiming to be their nephew the following day, on Sept. 4, 2026. This time, they asked for additional money for “lawyer expenses” and a courier was once again sent to the victim’s house to pick up the funds. The victim took out money but needed to arrange a different time for pick up and phoned their actual nephew, police said. “It was at this point that the real nephew advised that they had never been arrested nor did they ask for money. This prompted the victim to contact police,” said NRPS. Detectives with the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau took carriage of the investigation and determined that the legitimate courier service was requested by someone in the Milton area. They also identified two male suspects. On Nov. 7, a 17-year-old boy from Milton was arrested and charged with 10 offenses, including attempt to Commit indictable offence (fraud), possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime over $5,000, possess identity document, possession of cocaine and fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, and possess counterfeit money. The following day, on Nov. 8, a second suspect, 16-year-old boy, also from Milton, was arrested. He has been charged with fraud under $5,000, possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime under $5,000, and attempt to commit indictable offence (Fraud). The allegations have not been tested in court. The accused, who cannot be identified due to the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, were both released with future court dates.
