“I didn’t feel angry about what had happened. But I really wanted justice to be served, like these thieves to be caught, to be brought to justice and that’s why I’m willing to do that,” victim Nicky, who used a pseudonym, said in the interview. In the video, YRP Detective Sergeant Glenn Wright and Detective Constable Leanne Guthrie are seen interviewing Nicky, whose identity is hidden with a shadow. The 81-year-old goes on to discuss how he and his wife lost the large sum of money between March and May 2022. In March, Nicky and his wife received a phone call from a person they thought was their grandson. He claimed he had been arrested while a passenger in a friend’s car, which unbeknownst to him contained illegal drugs and a gun. Nicky said a judge asked for bail money for his grandson’s release. “And after he (the grandson) picked up the phone, a person who identified himself as an RCMP officer came on the phone and repeated what my grandson had told us. He also said the judge had issued a gag order on the proceedings because of the drugs involved. He asked not to discuss it with anyone, not even anyone in our family,” Nicky said in the interview. The rogue RCMP officer then asked Nicky and his wife to pay a sum of money as bail to release their grandson. “So my wife and I decided to try to get him because he’s our grandson. I mean, we didn’t think it wasn’t true. And so there’s all this emotion, we decided that yes, we would help him.” Nicky was instructed by the rogue RCMP officer to put the money in an envelope and that a courier would drop by to collect the money. Over the course of two months, the scammer convinced the couple to make four separate payments to help their grandson. Nicky said the officer claimed a gun was found by police in the vehicle, thus increasing the amount of bail granted by the judge. “We were promised at the beginning that once the gag order was lifted we would get our money back, which we believed.” Nicky said that he and his wife have a great relationship with their grandson and that he is “more like a son” to them. “He was our grandson. We felt we had to. His voice was our grandson’s. So we knew he was our grandson. That’s what we thought.” After two months of talking to the scammer, Nicky decided to call his grandson directly and that’s when he found out he was the victim of a scam. “And I said to him, ‘What was the name of the detective who took you to the precinct in Toronto?’ It says “Which region?” and I got this really uncomfortable feeling,” Nicky said. “My initial immediate response to him was okay, I see, I see we’re being scammed,” he added.
Nicky and his wife then reported the incident to the police. Nicky said during the two months he never had a moment to wonder if he was being scammed. “I’m just wondering how I missed some signs that I should (have) … I didn’t have a ‘Let me think about it for a second.’ I haven’t had one of those moments,” he said. The couple currently live in an old people’s home, which Nicky said was understanding of his financial woes during this time. The scam has also siphoned off money the couple would have used to go on an annual short trip within the province. “So this would be the month we did that. Also, it was our 50th anniversary which coincided and we couldn’t make it. So all that stuff now had to be put to the side… we’re getting by but we’ve just got a lot of adjustments to make,” Nicky said. He said it’s been a tough time for his family, especially financially, but his Christian faith is helping him cope. “There are two verses in the Bible that really stand out to me. It makes me who I am. One of them says “My God will supply all my needs, according to his riches and glory.” This means that as much as these thieves took, I still have more available for me, yet the Lord decides to give it back to me, to us,” he said. “And then the other thing is that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord,” he added. Nicky advises people who believe they are being scammed to seek help and call someone who can confirm the truth. YRP says Nicky is one of more than 50 reports of grandparent fraud in the area so far this year, a 100 per cent increase since 2021. Since 2019, victims of grandparent fraud have suffered a combined loss of nearly $1 million. “Although recovery of funds lost to fraud is extremely rare, through this investigation and the cooperation of financial institutions, police have helped recover $16,000 to date,” police said in a news release Thursday. Investigators believe there are more victims in the area who have yet to contact police. Anyone who is a victim of fraud and has lost money is urged to report the incident immediately to the Financial Crimes Unit either online at www.yrp.ca/ReportIt or by calling 1-866-876-5423. Scams where no money is lost can be reported to the Canadian Fraud Center online or by calling 1-888-495-8501.
