Woman charged in grandparent scam, police suspect there may be more victims

A 35-year-old woman is facing charges in connection with a fraud investigation in which senior citizens were allegedly scammed out of their money.

Known as the Emergency Grandparent Scam, police say phone calls are made to seniors telling them that a family member, typically a grandchild, has been arrested and money is needed to get them released on bail.

Investigators say during one recent interaction, a woman arrived at the victim’s home in a 2014 black, four-door BMW sedan to pick up cash that had been requested during a previous phone conversation.

Waldina Aranky of Toronto is facing a total of five charges including three counts of fraud over $5,000, attempted fraud over $5,000, and fraud under $5,000.

Police believe there may be other victims and are asking anyone to contact them.

Police are also reminding the public to never allow strangers into your home, never provide personal information over the telephone to strangers and police or court officials never go to someone’s home to collect money.

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