Fraudsters who posed as the granddaughter of an elder and his lawyer to extract nearly $4,000 from him were caught thanks to the vigilance of employees of a financial institution in L’Île-d’Orléans.
The event began around 12:30 p.m. last Tuesday when an elder was contacted by a crying woman who posed as one of his granddaughters. The latter told him that she needed $3,750 to be released after being involved in a serious collision.
“She said her cell phone had been confiscated, that she wouldn’t be able to answer and that a lawyer was going to call her to tell her what to do. […] A man called the victim back to ask him to get the money from his financial institution and to keep the reason for the withdrawal secret,” says the Sûreté du Québec, in a press release.
But when he visited the credit union, the establishment’s staff was doubtful about the size of the amount that had to be withdrawn. By questioning the victim, he quickly understood the subterfuge and contacted the authorities.
“The victim returned home and the police positioned themselves to intercept the suspects when they came to collect the money,” indicates the police force.
Two suspects from Montreal
The suspects realized their scheme had been discovered when a police officer answered the door instead of the elder and a short chase began. They were finally apprehended in the coast of the bridge.
They are two men in their twenties from Montreal. They were released on a promise to appear and their vehicle was seized as illegal property.
A similar situation occurred recently with another islander, who unfortunately contacted the authorities after being tricked. The Sûreté du Québec was therefore already on alert.
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