Richmond great-grandmother speaks out after falling victim to the 'Grandchild Scam'
Gretchen Schellenberg would do anything for her 12 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
So the Richmond senior was concerned when a man phoned in early February claiming to be a police officer, saying her grandson Tyler had been in an accident, and drugs were found in the car.
She was told he’d been arrested, and would go to jail unless she came up with $18,000. The caller then passed the phone to a man Schellenberg said sounded just like Tyler.
“He says to me, 'Grandma, I love you so much.' He says, 'I don’t want to have a police record,'” said Schellenberg.
She initially withdrew $5,000, which was picked up at her home by a courier. She was told not to tell anyone what was going on, or it would hurt Tyler’s case.
“They anticipated the questions at the bank about about why are you taking out the money, and told her how to answer that,” said Schellenberg’s son Allen.
Weeks later, she had another call from a man posing as a second police officer, demanding even more money to keep her grandson out of jail. She said she could send $4,000, but the caller said that wasn’t enough. So Schellenberg offered a set of pearls her now-deceased husband had given her 50 years ago, that appraised for $1,500. The man posing as police agreed.
“We couldn’t believe someone would be so low as to take the pearls, as an icing-on-the-cake kind of thing,” said Allen.
Schellenberg packaged up the pearls and the $4,000, which she was instructed to send by courier to an address in Ontario.
Gretchen Schellenberg is seen wearing the pearls she later sent to scammers.
The caller assured her she would get her money and jewelry back after Tyler’s trial. But days after that was supposed to have taken place, Schellenberg saw an article in her local paper about the Grandchild Scam. It explained how the con worked, with a person posing as a relative in trouble and others posing as police to bilk money out of unsuspecting seniors.
“I looked at the story and I couldn’t believe it,” Schellenberg said, sobbing.
“I quickly got on the phone and I phoned Tyler and I said, 'Tyler, were you in a car accident?' He says, 'No, what are you talking about? I don’t know anything about that.' And I said, 'Tyler, I’ve been scammed.'”
Schellenberg’s family was outraged the 88-year-old widow, who lives alone, had been targeted by heartless scammers.
“The amount of preparation they went through — they actually knew the grandson’s name, first and last name, a little bit about him,” said Allen.
“I think they played on her emotions to a large extent, and they know all of the things that would happen and things she would be thinking, and so they took steps to counter her natural instinct to talk to someone,” he added.
He said the biggest reason scammers get away with the con is they successfully convince the senior not to tell anyone.
“That’s probably the one message that has to get out to people. If you’re ever told by any phone caller not to speak to someone — that is a sure sign you need to hang up immediately or speak to someone,” said Allen.
Schellenberg filed fraud reports with RCMP and her bank, but she knows it’s unlikely she will get her money or pearls back.
“I just can’t believe it. It’s like a nightmare,” she said.
While she’s embarrassed she fell for the scam, the great-grandmother thought it was important to tell her story to keep other seniors from falling victim.
“I want everyone to know so it doesn’t happen to them,” Schellenberg said. “I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through. It’s awful
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.