The Chief of the Winkler Police Service says new tactics being used by scammers lately, specifically with one particular trick, is "quite concerning."
Ryan Hunt says Winkler Police continue to investigate two recent incidents of the 'Grandparent Scam' where the victims turned over a substantial amount of money.
PembinaValleyOnline.com reported the first incident Sunday night.
In a new twist on this old scam, Hunt says the perpetrator involved in these latest cases went to the victim's homes, where in the past, contact was made through email, phone, text, or other messaging apps.
Steinbach RCMP are investigating a similar case in the RM of La Broquerie last Thursday.
There is a good chance the incident there is related to the weekend scams in Winkler, however, Hunt said they can't confirm that.
Hunt said the scammers are doing their homework before they call and already know the names of family members. However, he said not to give them too much credit since that info can often be gathered quite easily by skimming through online social media accounts. Coupled with the fact the scammer has a second or sometimes a third person available to talk to the potential victim can make it all seem very credible.
The best way to protect yourself from this type of scam is to tell the scammer that you will call them back. Hunt says a legitimate caller should be more than willing to allow you to call back for added security.
Wed, May 15, 2:30 AM
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