An Airdrie senior is warning her peers to be on the lookout after she was the recent subject of an unsuccessful scam attempt.
Pat Walsh, a 78-year-old resident of the Canals District, said she recently received a call from an unknown number. According to Walsh, the caller claimed to be a Calgary police officer by the name of Cst. Davis, who told her that her grandson was in “big trouble” and needed to be sent a considerable amount of bail money.
Walsh said the caller was adamant that she was not to tell anyone about the exchange, and that she was told to go to her bank, withdraw $12,000, then go to FedEx and send the money in a brown envelope to a Quebec address.
“I knew this was a scam – I wasn’t going to pay them any money,” Walsh said. “It just didn’t seem real.”
While she quickly determined the caller was not who he claimed to be, Walsh said the scammer nonetheless sounded persuasive, and he referenced both her name and her address.
“They sound pretty convincing, but when you really listen to them, there are some holes in their story,” said Walsh, who said she fell victim to a scam a few years ago and knew this time she was trying to be duped.
“He said I wasn’t to talk to my grandson or anything like that, but after he hung up…I called my grandson and he said no, he was home the night before [and hadn’t been arrested].”
Walsh said she filed a police report with Airdrie RCMP about the scam attempt, and said she’d like to get the word out about the incident to remind other Airdrie seniors to be vigilant.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Walsh said she used to gather with peers regularly at a 50-plus club at the Airdrie Town and Country Centre. She said police and RCMP representatives would occasionally come present on the dangers of scams that target the elderly, and educate attendees at those gatherings of what to look out for.
“Be really careful and don’t pay any money,” Walsh said.
According to a Jan. 14 press release from Calgary Police Services (CPS), officers were searching for two people in the city and had charged two others after a series of scams targeting the elderly occurred between Dec. 7 and Dec. 22, 2021.
“The most recent report we received was from a victim who said she was contacted via phone by a man pretending to be her grandson,” the release stated. “He told her that he had been arrested by police and needed money for bail.
“The conversation was then turned over to a man who impersonated a police officer and told the victim that she needed to pay thousands of dollars in bail fees.”
CPS added law enforcement officers are not involved in collecting bail money from citizens. The release stated police continue to search for Makayla Mentis, 24, and an unknown female accomplice aged 20 to 25, with brown hair. A photo of the suspect is available on the City of Calgary newsroom.
Calgary Police Services has a website devoted to educating seniors about “grandparent scams.” The page cautions seniors to watch out for telemarketer scams, door-to-door sales scams, and home improvement scams, in particular.
“Abuse of elders and seniors citizens is a very real problem, and many scams and frauds are targeted at senior citizens who are vulnerable,” the page stated. “Don't become a victim – be aware of these scams and don't let them happen to you or someone you love.”
The page reminds seniors to not send out money or provide personal information, such as credit card numbers, bank account information, dates of birth, or Social Insurance Numbers, over the phone to unfamiliar companies or unknown persons.
According to CPS, seniors who believe they are the victim of a scam are encouraged to call 403-266-1234 to report the crime. Other reporting avenues include the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and RCMP.
