Toronto police launch year-long #DontGetScammed campaign

Toronto police say since January 2020, more than 33 victims of the “grandparent scam” have lost more than $3 million across Canada.

Many of those victims are in the Greater Toronto Area.

On Friday, Toronto police launched a new year-long education campaign to help people avoid becoming victims of scam artists.

The #DontGetScammed campaign will feature a new video on the first Friday of every month in 2023 outlining how different scams work and how to avoid being duped by them.

“Each #DontGetScammed video will provide an overview of the scam and highlight the red flags to watch out for so you can recognize a fraud,” police said in a release Friday.

The first video in the series focuses on the grandparent scam and provides tips on how to protect yourself.

“The people committing these crimes are often professional scammers who will use a variety of tactics to get their hands on your money,” the release adds.

“Often the fraudsters will be manipulative by taking advantage of your good nature, emotions and your vulnerabilities.”

In the first video, Insp. Paul Rinkoff of the Financial Crimes Unit explains how the grandparent scam works.

Usually a person calls a senior, claiming to be a relative in trouble and desperately in need of cash.

The caller “takes advantage of your good nature to help your loved ones during an emergency,” he explained.

“The caller is not your loved one and the emergency is not real.”

The video shows an example of an elderly woman answering a phone call. The person on the other end pretends to be her granddaughter.

“Grandma, I’m in a lot of trouble and I need your help. I crashed my car and I don’t have insurance.”

Rinkoff says in a situation like that the recipient of the call should:

• ask questions only your loved one will know the answers to
• never say the names of your loved ones during the phone call
• hang up, tell someone you trust, and confirm the emergency
• contact your loved one through family

Over the last two days three people have been charged in grandparent scam investigations in the Greater Toronto Area.

On Thursday, Peel police announced the arrest of a Mississauga man who allegedly tried to scam a senior by calling her and demanding several thousand dollars, saying her niece was in jail and the money was needed to secure her release.

In that case the victim, an 85-year-old Innisfil woman, wisely contacted her sister who immediately called police, leading to a fast arrest.

Mikhael Noriega is facing a charge of Fraud over $5,000.

On Friday, Durham regional police announced that two men were arrested in a similar case where “the victim was contacted by a person claiming to be a police officer, stating that the victim’s grandson had been arrested.”

In order to avoid the charges, the suspects demanded a payment of $9,000, which they allegedly collected.

But when the same people contacted the victim again requesting more money, the victim called police.

When they showed up to collect the cash, officers arrested them.

Mohamed Ali, 27, and Weheliye Ali, 24, both of Toronto, are charged with two counts of Fraud over $5,000 and Participate in Criminal Organization.