"Grandma, it's me — I'm in trouble!" — How the Grandparent Scam Works and How to Stop It

"Grandma, it's me — I'm in trouble!"

This week, a 39-year-old man from Moncton, New Brunswick was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for running a grandparent scam — fake calls from "grandchildren" in trouble, bail money demanded, about twenty elderly victims in just three weeks. He now owes $256,000 in restitution. This is exactly the scam this article is about, and the people running it are being caught right now.

That frantic voice on the phone sounds like your grandchild. There's been a car accident. They need bail money — thousands of dollars — and it has to be sent right now. Then a "lawyer" or "police officer" comes on the line to make it sound official.

It feels real because it's designed to. But in almost every case, it isn't.

This is the Grandparent Scam, and it's one of the most common frauds targeting seniors in Canada. The scammers buy up phone numbers, dial through them, and play on one thing: the fact that you'd do anything to help your family.

How the scam works

1. The urgent call. You answer and hear someone panicked: "Grandma! It's me — I had a car accident / I've been arrested / I'm stuck." They often don't say their name — they wait for you to supply it ("Is that you, Tyler?").

2. The secrecy demand. "Please don't tell Mom and Dad — they'd kill me." This isn't embarrassment. It's so you don't check the story with anyone.

3. The backup voice. A "lawyer," "police officer," or "bail bondsman" gets on the line to confirm everything and explain how to pay.

4. The payment. Wire transfer, gift cards, or Bitcoin. Always money that can't be traced or clawed back — that's the giveaway every time.

And there's a newer twist making the rounds right now: criminals hack a real person's social media or email account and message their actual friends and family asking for money. The UK's Report Fraud service says reported losses from hacked email and social media accounts hit £6.3 million last year (up from £1.2m) — and it launched a public awareness campaign about it on October 5th. Same defence applies — we'll get to it.

How to spot it

- Secrecy. "Don't tell anyone!" is never something a real emergency requires.

- Untraceable payment. Gift cards, wire transfers, crypto. Real lawyers and real police stations do not collect bail money via gift card.

- Rushing you. The whole scam runs on speed — if you have time to think, it falls apart.

### What to do

The one step that stops it: hang up, then call your grandchild — or their parents — on a number you already have saved. Nine times out of ten, the "relative" will be perfectly fine, sitting in math class or at work, wondering why you're asking.

One more rule worth memorising — it's the Golden Rule of every scam in this series:

> Anyone who pressures you to act right now — by phone, email, text, or a scary pop-up — is almost certainly a scammer. Real banks, real police, and real grandchildren never do that.

Hang up. Call back on a number you trust. That's it. The scam dies right there.

Why we're writing this

We diagnose, teach, and protect consumers and small businesses in Peterborough. Scam calls are one of the top things our senior customers ask us about — and the pattern is always the same: kindness gets exploited, and nobody told them what to look for.

So we made a free 8-page guide: 10 Scams Targeting Peterborough Seniors — the grandparent scam, the fake CRA call, phishing texts, fake bank calls, and six more, each with the signs to watch for and exactly what to do. No email signup, no catch — just download it and share it with someone you care about.

[Download the free guide at itclinik.com](https://itclinik.com)

Next week: the Fake CRA / Tax Scam — the stern voice threatening arrest, and the one sentence that ends the call.