Complex scams target senior citizens. These Montrealers want to stop them

Daphne Nahmiash knows firsthand that scammers bet on their targets and don’t stop to think about what’s really going on.

She has been getting calls from people posing as someone else asking for money. And she says friends have fallen for some of these sophisticated scams that prey on the elderly.

The seniors’ advocate says rational thinking fails when it comes to their family’s well-being.

“You’re not really that logical,” she said. “When people call you, you don’t really have the ability to stop and think clearly.”

These schemes include the so-called “grandparent scam”, in which a senior receives a call or text messages saying that a loved one is in dire need of money. They pretend to be a police officer, lawyer or even a younger relative.

As police and fraud prevention experts see an increase in these types of scams, more resources are being created to help seniors spot them – and to break any stigma around reporting the crime.

The Montreal Police Department says fraudsters have become more sophisticated in recent years.

And Clive Olivier, an officer in the police’s fraud division, says these people usually pressure potential victims to act quickly.

He says callers sometimes claim accounts have already been compromised — asking for someone’s credit card number to cancel the card or for verification purposes.

Olivier says a fraudster can send someone else to pick up the victim’s card while they are still on the phone. Or the scammer may even take the victim to their bank so that they withdraw money and instruct them what to say in the branch.

He says senior citizens are particularly vulnerable to these scams.

“We saw an increase in 2022. It’s more than doubled compared to the cases in 2021,” he said, adding that they’re seeing similar numbers so far this year.

Data from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center shows that the amount of money lost in Quebec has increased in recent years.

“If the fraudulent call is recent, we will try to get information,” said Olivier. “We’ll alert them if they call back to call us immediately… And we can join in trying to get hold of them.”

He encourages victims to report the crime to the police. But Nahmiash says many are hesitant to do so — even after losing the savings they depend on to live.

“It’s embarrassing to think it happened to you,” she said. “You feel ashamed and horrible that you weren’t smart enough to say no or prevent it.”

Create resources

The Cummings Center is working to raise awareness about these schemes.

The non-profit that serves seniors in western Montreal is getting requests from members for resources to track down the grandparent scam.

As of 2021, they have been conducting seminars on grandparent scams and other deceptive phone calls.

Linda Shohet, a member of the center’s social action committee, says their first virtual session had an “overwhelming” response, with nearly 700 people signing up.

Shohet wants people to know that they are not alone and that scams can happen to anyone.

“Our main goal is to educate people,” she said. They want people to know what kinds of scams are out there, and “signals [to] search and hear that say step back, hang up and ask questions.”

The center is now developing seminars for the fall, based on the demand and most pressing concerns of its members.