Thanks to the public's assistance, the Barrhead RCMP were able to arrest an Edmonton-area man accused of participating in a telephone scam on Aug. 7.
Cpl. Filipe Vicente stated the day before that they had received a complaint from an area resident, who reported falling victim to a variation of the "grandparent scam."
In this version, he said the caller said that their grandchild had been involved in an automobile collision and, as a result, had been arrested and that they needed money for his bail.
"Which is pretty typical," Vicente said, adding that scammers often represent themselves as a lawyer or the police.
However, he said, one thing the scammer did that is different from the norm is that instead of providing instructions on how to transfer the funds, they told their target that they would pick up the funds.
"Luckily, the people felt that something wasn't quite right, so when the person arrived, they ended up taking their picture and that of their vehicle," Vicente said.
He added that the next day, the detachment received another complaint of a very similar nature.
"That alerted us that the scammers were likely back in the area, so we issued a BARCC [Barrhead and Area Regional Crime Coalition] alert asking for the public's help in finding the individual. Within minutes, a member of the public got back to us saying they spotted the suspect's vehicle at the edge of Barrhead."
BARCC is a partnership between Woodlands County, the Town of Barrhead and the County of Barrhead, as well as the Barrhead RCMP and Rural Crime Watch.
It was formed in the spring of 2018, in part due to discussions with Peace River-Westlock MP Arnold Viersen, to develop initiatives that would help reduce rural crime. As part of the initiative, BARCC developed an alert messaging system that enables municipalities and the RCMP to send relevant information via text, telephone, or email.
Vicente stated that the file is currently undergoing the precharge process through the prosecutor's office, in which the Crown will decide whether or not charges will be laid, and as such, the identity of the suspect cannot be released.
However, Vicente said, if the prosecutor's office opts to go forward, which he believes they will, the accused will likely face charges of fraud and proceeds of crime.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
