Hear it for yourself: audio recording of a Grandparent Scam

[Grandparent Scam Audio Recording]

[This is a real call.]

[Beep, beep sound of person waiting on hold.]

[Grandparent Scam Audio Recording: Niagara Regional Police Service]

Female fraud victim: Yes, yes.

Male fraudster: I'm so sorry about that. Okay, so I have the arrest report here. Now, it turns out that he wasn't involved in the car accident.

Female fraud victim: Excuse me?

Male fraudster: He was involved in a car accident. He was not the driver. He was the passenger of the car. Okay.

Female fraud victim: Whose car?

Male fraudster: The officers verified that no one was injured in the accident and proceeded to run the license plates of the vehicles involved. Now, it became apparent that the owner of the vehicle was not in the car, and furthermore, that the owner of the car did in fact have multiple warrants held for his arrest. And so standard policy and procedure was simply to go ahead and perform a recent search of the vehicle, which is when officers on scene did discover the over ten pounds of marijuana in the trunk of the car.

Female fraud victim: Oh, God.

Male fraudster: Now, ten pounds of marijuana is well over 100 times the legal limit and does constitute trafficking. So both individuals were arrested and taken in for questioning.

Female fraud victim: Whose car?

Male fraudster: It was his friend's car. And I can't give his identity, that friend's family, Evan's identity, obviously. But I can tell you that it was his friend. And they had told officers on scene that they were headed to the drug store to get some medicine for their cold. That's what I can tell you. However, he does require a bond to be posted in order to secure his release here today. Are you willing and able to assist him?

Female fraud victim: What kind of a bond?

Male fraudster: It's a bail bond. It's refundable. You get it back in a couple of days' time.

Female fraud victim: And how much is that?

Male fraudster: Give me a moment, I'll open it up. It's $9,550. It is 100% refundable, and you get it back in 48 business hours. Are you willing and able to assist them?

Female fraud victim: $9,000?

Male fraudster: That's correct.

Female fraud victim: I'm gonna have to go to... 100% refundable?

Male fraudster: You get it back in a couple of days.

Female fraud victim: $9,000. How much?

Male fraudster: $9,550.

Female fraud victim: I don't know if I got that much in the bank at the moment. Okay, and your name is Officer Antonio Conte?

Male fraudster: CONTE. Conte.

Female fraud victim: CONTE.

Male fraudster: CONE.

Female fraud victim: CONE.

Male fraudster: CONTE.

Female fraud victim: Okay.

Male fraudster: Conte.

Female fraud victim: And you're just an officer, right?

Male fraudster: Yeah. Officer, badge number 7642.

Female fraud victim: Yes.

Male fraudster: I'll give you my phone number. It's not my direct line. This is the phone number for the RCMP. Just ask for Constable Antonio Conte and provide them my badge number.

Female fraud victim: Okay. How am I supposed to produce this money?

Male fraudster: It does have to be put up in cash. It is refundable. You do get the money back in form of a certified cheque from the Canadian federal government. So it has to be put up in cash. Not a cheque, not a bank draft. Like any wire transfer, credit card payment, bank draft or cheque is going to take 48 to 72 business hours to clear. So if you want them released here today, it's got to be put up in cash. If you could take a few moments or a few minutes or just... Just find out if that's feasible for you. Yes. Okay. So then there is a gag order on the case. Do you know what a gag order is?

Female fraud victim: Yeah. You're not supposed to talk about it.

Male fraudster: That's right. A gag order is a legal order placed by court or judge that limits the liability and case exposure of any unauthorized third parties, as well as any form of public record whatsoever. You can't discuss the case details with anyone. Okay.

Female fraud victim: So if I go to the bank and want to take this kind of money out and they say, what are you taking it out for? What do I tell them?

Male fraudster: Just tell them you're doing some renovations in your kitchen or bathroom. Don't tell him anything about the case. That'll get his bail revoked, and then he'll get in more legal trouble. I don't want that. Okay?