Grandson fraud: ‘I could have sworn it was my guy’

“Grandson fraud” has become a real scourge in the Quebec region, as evidenced by a citizen of Portneuf who almost handed over $3,500 to a supposed lawyer after receiving a call from “his boy” in tears.

• Also read: Grandson fraud: two young men arrested for trying to scam an elder in Quebec

Last August, Sylvain Genest received a call from a person who pretended to be his son and who said he was at the police station after hitting a woman in a car.

“He had the same tone of voice, the same expressions. I don’t know how they did it, but I could have sworn it was my guy,” says the 74-year-old man, who lives in Saint-Casimir, in Portneuf.

An individual claiming to be his lawyer then contacted the septuagenarian and asked him to pay “a deposit” of $3,500 in cash, which a “debt collector” would come and collect.

If several elements mentioned by the fraudsters lit red flags in Mr. Genest’s head, it was when they told him to “find something credible” to withdraw his money from the bank that he had a click. .

He then contacted the company where his son works to make sure he was okay, before reporting the situation to the police.

“Structured” crime

“People think they’ll never be fooled, but they hold you by feelings. You don’t have time to think,” says the septuagenarian.

The situation reported by Mr. Genest does not surprise the detective lieutenant in the fraud and proceeds of crime unit of the Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ), Gillo Brière. In fact, this is the exact modus operandi of fraudsters who use this kind of deception.

“It’s very structured, like mass marketing. There is a call center that has been created and hundreds of calls are made every week to vulnerable people who have been previously targeted,” explains Mr. Brière.

This type of crime has been growing in the region in recent years. Since January, 105 events of this type have been recorded by the SPVQ, while there were only 8 in 2020. But this is only the tip of the iceberg, it is emphasized.

Complex investigations

Due to telephone technologies, the cash exchanged during these frauds and the fact that the suspects mainly come from outside the region, the investigations linked to these cases are particularly complex.

“As a suspect is often involved in several cases, we have a good resolution rate. Unfortunately, we rarely find the victims’ money,” laments the detective lieutenant.

This is why he invites citizens to talk about it with their vulnerable loved ones and to be particularly careful when they receive a call from someone who is putting pressure to act quickly.

“Ask questions. Fraudsters do not have the time to carry out exhaustive research on each of their victims. The scenario will quickly fall apart,” suggests Mr. Brière.

Grandson’s fraud reported by the SPVQ

2020 : 8

2021 : 20

2022 : 51

2023 : 72

2024 : 105*

* as of November 28, 2024

What is grandson fraud?

→ A fake relative of the victim calls him in panic telling him that he has been arrested

→ A second person in a position of authority (often a “lawyer”) then calls and requests bail to release the relative in question

→ Telephone exchange until an amount of cash is handed over to a courier passing through the area

How to detect fraud?

→ We ask not to tell anyone about it

→ We are asked to find a bogus excuse to withdraw an amount from the bank

→ We ask you to go and give the money to someone outside or to a post office box

→ A sense of urgency is established

Source: Quebec City Police Department