Fraud Alert – Phone Scam

Charlottetown Police Services wish to warn the public of two significant frauds that occurred over the last week.

On Dec 8th, an elderly woman received a phone call from someone claiming to be her grandson whom had been arrested and required money to post bail, a second suspect then came on the phone and identified himself as a Police Officer.   She was then instructed by the “Police Officer” on how to package the money and ship is through Purolator to an address in Quebec.   The “Officer” also told her not to tell anyone about the call.   Unfortunately, the victim did not recognize the scam and sent three separate packages of cash that contained a significant amount of money.

On Dec 16th, another elderly woman received a similar phone call claiming it was her niece that had been arrested and needed money to post bail.   The scenario was very similar to the other one and a significant amount of money was sent via FedEx to an address in Quebec.

Both files are still under investigation.   We ask that the public be vigilant and urge that family members reading this fraud alert speak to their elderly friends/family members and remind them of these type of scams in hopes they will not fall victim.

Should you have received this type of call, you may wish to report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501, or visit their website at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.

If you have fell victim to this scam by sending money, please report it to your local Police of jurisdiction.