Toronto police say they have made an arrest in a fraud scam targeting grandparents.
According to police, a number of people received calls from a person claiming to be their grandchild in trouble between March 2 and March 7.
The impersonator would then pass the phone on to another person pretending to be a police officer or a lawyer, demanding payment for the release of the grandchild.
Police said the victims were instructed to hand over money to a “courier” who would come to their home and that they were also told not to tell anybody about the incident.
The cumulative loss to the victims is believed to be a combined total of $42,900, police said.
Investigators said one man was arrested while attending the home of one of the victims.
Toronto police said Wednesday that 24 year old Nikolaos Antonopoulos of Quebec was arrested on March 7. He has been charged with five counts of fraud over $5,000.
He scheduled to make a court appearance on May 2.
In a release, police warned the public that they would never demand cash in such a way.
“The Toronto Police Service is requesting anyone who receives this type of call or solicitation to contact police,” the release said. “Police never contact family members and request cash bail or send someone to their home to pick up bail money.”
Law enforcement agencies in other jurisdictions have cautioned against similar scams in recent months. Some savvy seniors have played along with the scammers, while simultaneously alerting police to intercept them when they come to collect the cash.
A New York grandmother told CTV News earlier this year that she “played the game” in order to catch a suspect who allegedly tried to scam her. Doorbell camera footage captured the police takedown in that incident as the man came to her door.
