Montreal police charge two after surveillance op catches 'grandparent scam' in action

Montreal police file photo (CTV Montreal / Daniel J. Rowe)

Montreal police (SPVM) have arrested two alleged fraudsters for using so-called "grandparent scams" to swindle thousands of dollars from the elderly, including some in Westmount, they say.

After publishing some details on Tuesday, they asked the press to rescind some of that information for legal reasons, putting out a new release on Wednesday.

They say officers in Westmount were approached by some of the victims of the fraud, and they began a surveillance operation that managed to snare the suspects as they "were preparing to extract more money from their victim."

The two accused, who police have not named, allegedly called their victims by phone and posed as police officers, police say.

"They asked for large amounts of money supposedly to cover medical or legal costs of a relative in difficulty," they said.

"The suspects or an accomplice then visited their victims on several occasions to collect the money requested in cash."

Two of the targeted people went to police after "sensing the scam," the SPVM wrote.

Both of the accused were arrested "in recent weeks," they said, but the investigation is ongoing, alongside the force's financial crimes unit, "to determine if the suspects may be linked to other similar cases of fraud recently occurring in Montréal."

The SPVM is asking anyone who feels they have been a victim of any potential scams to contact a local police station or call 911.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is also reachable at 1-888-495-8501.