Nanaimo RCMP are warning residents about a spike in the "grandson scam", where scammers pretend to be a loved one who's in trouble, and request quick money transfers from the victim. (NeedPix)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

grandson scam

‘It’s hitting Nanaimo hard’: grandson phone scam rampant in Nanaimo

Feb 28, 2024 | 11:27 AM

NANAIMO — At least nine complaints were made to Nanaimo RCMP over the course of just two hours about the long-running grandson scam.

Nanaimo RCMP Res. Cst. Gary O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW those complaints about thieves looking to pocket thousands of dollars were made to their detachment the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 28.

He said all of the complaints follow the same playbook: a caller pretending to be their grandson, who is in Nanaimo jail and in need of help.

“He’s been involved in an accident where he struck a pregnant woman and he can’t talk very long. Then the fake lawyer gets on and then the legal assistant sometimes gets on, they’re asking for anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000.”

Saying “it’s hitting Nanaimo hard,” O’Brien said the grandson scam has evolved locally in recent years to include multiple people urgently addressing the would-be victim.

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He said in one case a potential victim in Nanaimo was in a local bank and contemplating sending cash on the spot.

“Thank goodness our switchboard operator told her it was a scam and saved her, in this case, $7,000.”

As of late Wednesday morning, O’Brien said there hadn’t been any reported monetary losses in the latest wave of the scam.

O’Brien said the scam centres around a request for a bank wire transfer with a 10-digit code to send the money.

He said once money is sent to the scammers, it’s extremely difficult to get it back.

“We have had cases if they call very quickly the bank will work with the victim to reimburse their money,” O’Brien said.

This kind of scam is not uncommon on the mid-Island.

Last February in Oceanside, a parent lost $32,000 after scammers pretended to be their daughter, saying they were in jail and needed immediate help.

A week prior to that incident a Nanaimo mother lost $1,800 when scammers again impersonated their daughter, who was travelling and needed help.

In January, a Nanaimo woman lost $4,000 after she was scammed over text message into thinking she was sending money to her out-of-province son.

This scam was reported in Nanaimo as early as 2020, where a local grandmother lost $14,000 over the course of nine days after scammers once again pretended to be their grandson, who was in jail and needed immediate help.

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