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A warning to seniors – take what callers say with a grain of salt

Another Cowichan Lake grandparent has been contacted by a phone scammer. Luckily, this time around, the grandparent clued in to the scam before losing any money.

Another Cowichan Lake grandparent has been contacted by a phone scammer.

Luckily, this time around, the grandparent clued in to the scam before losing any money.

Now, the grandparent, who wishes to remain anonymous, wants to warn others in the community to not fall for the scam.

The phone call began with a man, claiming to be his grandson, and to be in a situation while travelling in which he requires a money transfer.

“I knew right away that it wasn’t my grandson,” the local grandparent said, adding that the caller had referred to him as “grandpa.”

“I don’t think I have a grandson that calls me ‘grandpa,’” he said.

The grandfather immediately hung up the phone and contacted the Lake Cowichan RCMP.

Be sure the person who’s calling is who they say they are, the grandparent warns, as other seniors have been financially affected by phone scams at Cowichan Lake.

In April, local grandmother Val Pawlik was scammed to the tune of about $1,000 from someone claiming to be her “favourite granddaughter,” stuck in a Jamaican jail.

Pawlik believes the fraudsters learned of her granddaughter’s travels through Facebook.