Seniors lost $4.2M to grandparent scams this year. Here's how one Ontario man had $8,000 stolen
When the phone rang, Stuart Irvine of Mississauga, Ont., wasn’t sure who was on the other end of the line, but then a voice said, “Grampy, it’s me.”
Irvine said “That’s when I thought ‘That sounds like my grandson Cody,’ so I stupidly said ‘Cody is that you?’ And that’s all they needed.”
Irvine says he was told his grandson needed bail money after narcotics were found in his friend's car. Irvine also says he was told not to tell any other family members or friends as there was a gag order in the case.
He said he was directed to get $8,000 cash from the bank and a courier would come to his home to pick up the money.
That’s when Irvine said he decided to call his grandson Cody directly.
“I said to him, ‘Were you downtown yesterday?’ and he said, ‘No. Was I supposed to be?’ That's when the thunder roared and the crash came and I thought ‘I’ve been had.’"
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), the grandparent scam is now rampant across the country as criminals take advantage of grandparents and their love for their grandchildren.
“It's difficult to say why we are seeing such an increase because reporting (of the grandparent emergency scam) is on pace to nearly double this year,” Jeff Horncastle with communications at CAFC told CTV News Toronto.
CAFC said that Canadians lost $2.4 million to the grandparent and emergency scam in 2021, however, that number has almost doubled to $4.2 million already in 2022.
Irvine said looking back something didn’t feel right and he wishes he would have followed his instincts.
“In my mind I was constantly thinking this could be a scam. But I didn't have the guts to stop it because I was thinking of my grandson" said Irvine.
The CAFC advises to be suspicious of calls that demand immediate action, remember law enforcement officers will not seek immediate payment, never send money to anyone under uncertain conditions and that if the situation doesn’t feel right don’t be afraid to say no.
Irvine says he wanted to share what happened to him to warn other grandparents and wants to remind them to never be the first to say their grandchild's name. If called, Irvine says to ask questions only your family members would know such as the name of a family pet, a siblings name or where you spend the holidays.
“I would say it's the worst thing that has happened with money in my life," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Michael Cohen: A challenging star witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial
He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now Michael Cohen is prosecutors' biggest piece of legal ammunition in the former president's hush money trial.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
German men with the strongest fingers compete in Bavaria's 'Fingerhakeln' wrestling championship
Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, over 150 Bavarian men came together Sunday to compete in Germany’s unique national championship of “Fingerhakeln,” or finger wrestling.
As Israel pushes deeper into Rafah, Hamas regroups elsewhere in ungoverned Gaza
Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.
4th Indian national arrested, charged with murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Homicide investigators in B.C. say murder charges have been laid against a fourth Indian national in connection to the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara last year.
Balancing act: Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO juggles Arctic airline challenges
With carriers' flight volumes above the 60th parallel hovering below pre-pandemic levels, Canadian North’s first Inuk CEO now bears the task of balancing those financial and logistical challenges with the needs of communities for which she feels a deep affinity.