An arrest has been made in connection with the Grandparent Scam that’s been happening in our region.
On Friday a 24-year-old Quebec man was arrested and charged in relation to a number of recent Grandparent Scam Frauds that have been occurring in the Barrie area.
The Barrie Police Fraud Unit has been investigating several occurrences where the victim receives a call from an individual who claims to be a police officer or an employee with court services.
The caller then explains that the victim’s grandchild is in trouble and has been arrested and requests a large cash payment to secure bail for the grandchild. The victim is given instructions on how to package the cash and is given a name of a “judge” or a name and badge number for an “investigating police officer” to write on the outside. After the package of cash is picked up, the victim usually receives another call from the individual, claiming more cash is required.
Between Monday, July 18, and Friday, July 22, it is believed that up to $90,000 was lost through this scam.
At 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon, investigators from the Barrie Police Fraud Unit were able to arrest the male as he attempted to collect money from another victim. The male is now facing multiple fraud-related charges including Fraud over $5,000, and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5,000.
Police believe there may be additional victims of this fraud, and encourage anyone who may have received a similar call and lost money to contact Barrie Police at 705-725-7025 or online at https://www.barriepolice.ca/citizens-online-reporting/.