Skeptical Saskatoon seniors help police trap suspects in 'grandparent emergency scam'

Two Saskatoon seniors recall the precise moment they turned the tables on three men charged with bilking elderly Saskatoon residents of more than $100,000.

It was late morning on Jan. 10, and Larry and Helen were walking down the hallway of their Nelson Road condo unit, heading to the bank to withdraw $9,000 cash they thought was needed to bail their grandson out of jail. CBC has agreed to not reveal their last name because of their role in the investigation.

"I've heard of this scam many times and I was really quite smugly confident that I'd never get taken in. But not that morning," Larry said.

"We get to the elevator and, thankfully, the brains kick in. You know, that didn't sound much like [our grandson]. And the bail instructions they gave me didn't sound quite great."

The couple went back to their unit. Embarrassment at almost being tricked quickly turned to anger. 

"I'm not just going to let it go by," Larry said.

"Let's see whether maybe the police can do something — turn the tables here."

Three men from Quebec are now in custody charged with 10 counts of fraud over $5,000. Police allege the trio began running the scam Dec. 21 in the city and stole more than $100,000, in $9,000 and $9,800 increments, before running into Larry and Helen.

Larry and Helen recounted how the the day went down from their perspective in an interview with CBC.

It all started around 10 a.m. CST. Larry, 87, was in their den when his landline rang. Helen, 84, was in the other room talking on her cellphone with a friend.

"'Hello, grandpa, how are you?' I said I'm fine. How are you? 'Well, not very good,'" Larry recalled.

"He said he was at work, feeling sick, and then tested positive for COVID. He picked up some medication and was on the way home when he rear-ended a vehicle driven by a lady that was six months pregnant. The airbag went off and they're concerned that her pregnancy might be affected and I confessed that I had my cellphone in my hand and now I'm in jail, grandpa."

The "grandson" said he needed money for bail. He said he could only make one call and was afraid to call his dad. Then he put on a second person who claimed to be his lawyer. That person said the money would be refunded after he made his first court appearance.

After realizing they were targets for a scam, Larry and Helen called police to say they were still in contact with the suspects. Police agreed to work with Larry and Helen to lure the fraudsters to the couple's condo. The catch was that it was mid-morning and police would not be in place until 4 p.m.