The Manitoba government, along with the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS), have announced a new anti-fraud campaign aimed to protect older adults from phone scams.
“Older adults in Manitoba deserve to be safe physically, financially and emotionally,” said Justice Minister Matt Wiebe. “Working together with community partners and the WPS for the Just Hang Up campaign is an important investment in the safety of older adults, which will help prevent further victims by teaching older adults to interrupt these scam attempts early on and just hang up.”
Grandparent scams and emergency scams involve fraudsters calling an older adult and impersonating a grandchild or family member in distress, sometimes using artificial intelligence, based on information obtained from social media, public information or data breaches. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Manitobans aged 60 and up reported losing almost $350,000 to these types of scams in 2024.
The WPS Just Hang Up campaign is designed to stop scams the moment they begin, by encouraging people to just hang up when in doubt about a phone call. The campaign uses a multi-channel approach to reach older adults and their families, aiming to strengthen fraud literacy through clear community messaging that builds confidence to pause, hang up, verify information with family and report incidents.
Provincial funding will support online resources, promotional materials and advertising to educate older adults, empower victims by challenging the stigma of being scammed and encourage reporting to prevent further victimization, the minister noted. The campaign will also include an online resource hub at https://justhangup.ca/.
“With advancements in technology, grandparent scams have become a serious threat, causing financial hardship for families and eroding trust in institutions as fraudsters impersonate authority figures to exploit vulnerable seniors,” said Insp. Jennifer McKinnon, WPS Major Crimes Division.
The funding has also enabled the WPS to develop a presentation that will continue reaching older adults well beyond the campaign’s completion. The WPS Community Relations Division, in partnership with trusted community partner A & O: Support Services for Older Adults, will deliver in-person presentations to provide older adults with practical tools and awareness to help prevent victimization. Over the next six months, the campaign aims to engage with more than 700 people during these sessions, the minister noted. Information on how to book WPS and A & O group presentations can be found at justhangup.ca.
“A & O: Support Services for Older Adults is proud to partner with the WPS to deliver the Just Hang Up campaign,” said Amanda Macrae, CEO, A & O: Support Services for Older Adults. “The agency remains committed to empowering older people with the knowledge and tools they need to stay safe and age well in their communities. As increasingly complex frauds and scams continue to target older adults, the need for greater public awareness, education and prevention initiatives has never been more critical. The Just Hang Up campaign serves as an important tool in helping prevent older individuals from becoming victims of crime.”
