Seniors in Nova Scotia and across the country are increasingly becoming targets of scams.
“It’s been devastating for a lot of people,” said Bill VanGorder with the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP).
Since the start of the pandemic, VanGorder said scams that occur online or over the phone, are more common than ever.
“It’s almost as if the perpetrators are directing more of their focus toward older Nova Scotians,” he said.
“And you know Nova Scotians — Atlantic Canadians — for the most part, especially older ones, are very trusting people.
“They have not been thinking that anybody would ever try to do this kind of thing to them and that’s one of the reasons they don’t recognize it.”
The Nova Scotia RCMP recently warned residents of a scam that targets grandparents, where a scammer pretending to be a lawyer contacts a target claiming their grandchild was arrested and money is needed for their release. In one instance, a victim sent $9,000 by mail to the fraudster, said the RCMP in a March 10 release.
VanGorder said what makes seniors more vulnerable is that they likely have more time to spend time talking to people on the phone when they call, and are more likely to listen, especially considering the isolation many felt in the past two years.
The RCMP also said the Canadian…
