The Quebec Provincial Police, in collaboration with several local police stations, uncovered a criminal gang specialized in defrauding the elderly and arrested 13 suspects in Montreal and the surrounding suburban cities. The suspects were also arrested in the United States.

The suspect appeared for the first time before the court in Montreal on Wednesday (October 4) and was charged with gang activity, identity theft, and fraud. A police spokesperson stated that all the suspects are men aged between 26 and 43 years old.

Most of the victims are elderly people living in the United States. After obtaining their names, phone numbers, and other information, the scammers pretended to be their grandchild in desperate need of money after being arrested. After gaining their trust, another person posed as a court employee and went to their residence to collect the money. Each victim was defrauded of about $9,000. The police believe there may be more victims.

The police advise the public to be more vigilant when faced with requests for money. If someone claims to be a family member, it is good to ask questions that only family members would know the answers to and to verify with relatives and friends.

According to the statistics from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians who fell victim to various scams lost a total of 530 million Canadian dollars in 2022, an increase of 40% from the previous year. The grandparent scam targeting the elderly led to fraud amounting to $9.2 million.