Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

WEST WARWICK -- The police here say beware of a scam by someone identifying himself as a Canadian police officer, who bilked an 80-year-old man out of $41,000.

The incident began Jan. 26 when a man identifying himself as a police officer with the Toronto police called an elderly man and told him his grandson had been arrested for driving under the influence in Toronto and needed $2,700 to be released from police custody, according to Sgt. Donald Archibald.

The caller put another young man on the phone, who pretended to be his grandson. He told the man not to tell anyone about the incident, because he did not want to get in trouble.

On Jan. 26, the man wired the $2,700 and more than $200 in fees via Western Union to a bank in Canada, according to the police.

On Jan. 27, the man received a call from someone pretending to be his grandson. He told him he needed $2,500 for court and attorney fees. The man wired the money.

A man claiming to be the man's grandson called back Jan. 28 to tell the elderly man he could not get through customs in Canada without paying a fee of $2,600. The man wired the money.

The following day a man called the elderly man claiming to be a representative from Sun Life Insurance Co. in Canada and told him his grandson had been in an accident prior to being arrested and that he did not have insurance. The man told the elderly man that his grandson would have to compensate the insurance company for the value of the car, $33,000.

The elderly man told the police he transferred $33,000 to the Royal Bank of Canada with his grandson as beneficiary. The transfer tipped off the man's bank, which questioned why he was wiring so much money, and that's when the man realized he had been duped, Archibald said.

Archibald said his department notified the Canadian Mounted Police, which has received about 100 reports of similar scams.

He warned other people that police never call to ask for money to get someone out of jail. "When someone like that does call, the best course of action is to get as much information from the caller -- the name, the police department, who the relative is and what the charge is. Then they can contact their local police department to ask if the person who called is legitimate," Archibald said.

The police would not identify the victim, saying the investigation is ongoing.

"This gentleman was very aware, but they razzle-dazzled him. They used a grandson. People don't expect to be duped by law enforcement, because there is a bond of trust with police," Archibald said.

 Tags  West Warwick

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