We received a call today advising us that someone had tried to pull one of the oldest, but lucrative, scams at a Kerrisdale bank branch.
The scam, called the Bank Inspector fraud (or the Granny Game) … involves a con artist calling an elderly person, typically a woman living alone, and introducing themselves as an Inspector for the bank. The ‘Inspector’ will tell the victim that they are conducting an internal investigation into a teller, or other bank employee, suspected of embezzling money. To try and keep the victim from talking to anyone about the request, the ‘Inspector’ will often say that they do not know exactly who at the bank is committing the crime and that any communication by the victim could ruin the investigation.
The con-artist will request the victim’s assistance by agreeing to go to the bank, withdrawing a substantial sum (typically between $1,000.00 and $2,000.00) and then meeting with the ‘Inspector’ outside the bank who will take the funds for inspection. They will then promise a return call and that all of the funds will be deposited back into the victim’s account by the end of the day.
In the recent case in Kerrisdale, the senior went to the bank, withdrew the money but was then questioned by her caregiver as to why she needed the money. The caregiver then returned to the bank with the senior and explained what had happened. The Vancouver Police were called and the money was deposited back into the seniors account.
Heads-Up.ca is a website run by the Heads Up Fraud Prevention Association out of Edmonton. They have a good website with a list of several other common scams. This particular scam is common enough that they created a cheesy, but effective, video that explains how the crime works (but you need to download it).