Police believe an Ontario man accused of swindling thousands of dollars from senior citizens through a telephone scam is linked to a cross-country crime network.
Twenty-three-year-old Charles Gillen appeared in provincial court this morning, but was not impressed with the media coverage, staring down a reporter and shaking his head as he sat in the prisoner’s box.
Gillen is now facing 27 counts of fraud, extortion and a slew of other related charges linked to his alleged involvement in a so-called grandparent phone scam.
Charles Gillen, 23, accused of swindling thousands of dollars from seniors through so-called “grandparent” telephone scams, speaks with a lawyer in Provincial Court. @VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/7EdmPpWGNL
— Brian Callahan (@briancallahan67) March 7, 2023
That’s where someone pretends to be a grandchild or other relative in some kind of financial trouble and needing money to help them out.
Gillen is accused of doing that to almost a dozen seniors in the metro area, bilking them to the tune of about $200,000.
He also has similar charges pending out of Nova Scotia, and an armed robbery charge in London, Ontario.
Asked if he understood the charges against him, he said yes, telling court he’s seeking a lawyer outside the province.
Gillen, who was arrested at St. John’s airport last week as he attempted to leave, will remain in custody after the Crown opposed his release today. He’s due back in court next Monday.
Anyone who has received such a scam call is asked to contact the authorities.
RCMP Corporal Jolene Garland says similar telephone scams have targeted a number of areas around the province.
She says they are aware of two recent cases in central Newfoundland where the scammer identified themselves as an RCMP officer.
In one case an older man showed up at the local RCMP detachment, cash in hand, looking for his loved one, while another victim was scammed out of several thousand dollars.
The scammer then indicated that the person’s loved one was in trouble and needed help with bail. Garland says the scammer comes across as credible and convincing and may even use the name of someone you know—but she warns, a police officer would never call a person seeking money for any reason.
If someone identifying themselves as an officer is asking for bail or any other form of payment, then it’s a scam. She says hang up, call the police and report it.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary ECU and Canadian Anti Fraud Centre are offering some tips to prevent fraud:
– If you receive a call from anyone claiming to be law enforcement, looking to obtain personal information, end the conversation and contact you’re the police agency directly
– Anyone seeking large transactions of cash within a short time period is to be deemed suspicious.
– Use caution posting online. Fraudsters can gather information from your social media accounts that will make their claims of sound legitimate.
– Don’t trust a number just because it is local or familiar. Fraudsters may use technology that will disguise their actual contact.
– If you receive a suspicious call claiming to be a family member who has been arrested, in hospital, or in an emergency requiring immediate money transfers, hang up the phone and contact the person and/or agencies mentioned directly.
– If you receive any type of unsolicited mail, phone call, email or text messages that asks for any type of personal information, do not respond and delete or discard it immediately.
– If you are conducting any type of business online or over the phone to make sure you know who you are dealing with.