Awareness key to protecting seniors from fraud

Nonagenarian Harry Zborowski was excited as usual when he received a phone call two years ago from his granddaughter.

Less than a minute into the call, she claimed she was in a car accident in Montreal and needed $4,200.

Joan Filip and Harry Zborowski shared their stories of fraud at the awareness forum

“The person was speaking so fast and I remember telling them to hold on, hold, on,” recalled Zborowski, now 94. “She said, ‘you don’t recognize your granddaughter anymore and I said, Jodie, of course I do’. She then went on to tell me she had rented a car that was involved in an accident and she needed the money right away. I was more than sure it was Jodie and I did exactly what she told me. She even asked me if I remembered how to spell her name and I said yes Jodie.”

Always faithful to his grandchildren, Zborowski quickly got dressed, went to the bank and then headed to the nearest Western Union – as advised by his granddaughter – to wire the money. She also told him to take out an extra $180 that would be a service charge.

The next day, Zborowski received another phone call from his granddaughter requesting an additional $6,000 to retain a lawyer.

“I reminded Jodie that her dad is a lawyer with contacts in Montreal and that perhaps she should speak with him,” he said. “She, however, told me she didn’t want her parents to know what happened. I was in the kitchen and my cellphone was on the dresser, so I told her to hold on for a few minutes. I used my cell to call Jodie’s husband and when I told him she had a problem in Montreal, he said Jodie is right here with me and she has the baby in her hands. I said, ‘Oh my God’.”

Zborowski was another victim of the grandparent scam in which fraudsters prey on the love and concern grandparents have for their grandchildren.

His story, however, had a happy ending.

The elderly man’ s daughter hired a lawyer and sued Western Union in Small Claims Court for not doing enough to protect her father from fraud. The court ordered Western Union to pay him $4,380, including the $180 money transfer fee and $5,000 in legal costs.

The judge ruled Western Union breached its contract by paying the money to a Sean Cooper instead of Zborowski’ s granddaughter, Jodie Rosen, as he had requested.

Zborowski and 92-year -old Joan Filip, who was also the victim of a senior’s fraud, attended this year’s Fraud Prevention Month launch on Feb. 28 at police headquarters.

In April 2010, two women visited Filip’s home, posing as workers from Seniors for Seniors. The fraudsters, who stole her credit card and purchased $200 in beauty products, were apprehended and are serving time for scamming elderly widows out of thousands of dollars.

Consumer Affairs Minister Tracy MacCharles said consumers between the ages of 60-69 are targeted the most when it comes to identity theft, telemarketing and internet fraud.

“This can happen to anyone, but this age group reports the highest dollar loss to these illegal practices,” she said. “Education and awareness are key to protecting seniors and today’ s launch demonstrates how much we can accomplish by working together , tackling fraud and scams and protecting our seniors. Our seniors are the leaders in our community and they deserve our support and respect. They also deserve all of our efforts to prevent fraud in Ontario.”

In the opening address, Deputy Chief Mark Saunders welcomed the Minister and other stakeholders to police headquarters for the launch that brought together the Toronto Police Service, Financial Services Commission of Ontario, the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the Crime Prevention Association of Toronto, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Bank of Canada, Industry Canada’s Competition Bureau, the Canadian Bankers Association and the Canadian Healthcare Anti-Fraud Association.

Billions lost

“Fraud and financial crimes cost Canadians over $10 billion annually,” said Saunders. “This is a staggering number. “With the use and abuse of technology today, and the rapid rate it’ s growing, financial crimes have become a very real threat to financial institutions, small businesses and private citizens alike. The Toronto Police Service acknowledges the growing threat of financial crimes and, in an effort to not only combat but stay ahead of the crime trends, we started in-house and have enhanced and retooled our financial crimes unit.

“We are incredibly proud of the partnerships we have with those gathered here today. You are seeing, first-hand, the collective efforts of national, provincial and local police services joining with the financial sector, private industry and educational institutions to share resources, expertise and knowledge in the pursuit of those committing financial crimes.”

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