{"meta":{"database":"Global Social Engineering Impact Database","url":"https://global-social-engineering-impact-da.vercel.app","license":"CC BY 4.0 — attribute to Netarx Social Engineering Incident Database","generated":"2026-08-29T09:22:17.330Z","total":1,"returned":1,"limit":50,"offset":0,"next":null,"note":"Read loss_kind before summing loss_usd: only direct_loss and ransom_paid are comparable. Entries with entry_type \"benchmark\" are aggregate agency statistics and overlap with everything else by construction."},"results":[{"title":"25 Canadians charged over $21M grandparent scam targeting seniors in 40 states","date":"2025-03-05","date_precision":"day","victim_org":"Elderly US residents in more than 40 states (multi-victim campaign)","sector":"Consumer","country":"United States and Canada","primary_vector":"Vishing (Voice Phishing)","secondary_vectors":["Physical Pretexting"],"ai_involvement":"Unknown","ai_notes":"The indictment describes live callers posing as grandchildren and lawyers; it does not allege voice cloning.","outcomes":["Wire Fraud / Financial Loss"],"loss_usd":21000000,"loss_note":"Over $21 million in losses, per the charging announcement.","records_affected":null,"threat_actor":"Montreal-area call center network (25 Canadian nationals charged)","summary":"On 5 March 2025 US authorities announced charges against 25 Canadian nationals over a grandparent scam run from call centers in and around Montreal that defrauded elderly people in more than 40 states of over $21 million. Twenty-three defendants were arrested on 4 March and two remained at large. Money was moved to Canada after cash pickups, sometimes through cryptocurrency, to obscure its source.","how_it_worked":"Callers phoned elderly Americans and claimed to be a grandchild who had been arrested after a car crash and needed bail money immediately. A second conspirator came on the line posing as an attorney to lend procedural credibility, and told the victim a gag order forbade discussing the case with anyone, an instruction that isolates the target from the family members who would otherwise puncture the story. The emotional lever was fear for a grandchild in custody, layered with legal authority and enforced secrecy. Collection was in person: a conspirator posing as a bail bondsman came to the victim's home to take the cash.","lessons":"A pre-agreed family code word and an absolute rule of hanging up and calling the relative back on a known number defeats this script, since the scam depends on the victim never independently verifying.","confidence":"Reported","sources":[{"title":"25 Canadian nationals connected to nationwide multi-million dollar 'grandparent scam' charged in Vermont","url":"https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/25-canadian-nationals-connected-nationwide-multi-million-dollar-grandparent-scam","publisher":"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement"}],"entry_type":"campaign","slug":"2025-25-canadians-charged-over-21m-grandparent-scam-targeting-seniors-in-40-s","year":2025,"loss_kind":"aggregate","url":"https://global-social-engineering-impact-da.vercel.app/incidents/2025-25-canadians-charged-over-21m-grandparent-scam-targeting-seniors-in-40-s"}]}