The OPP and Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) are warning of a new scam impersonating service providers.
Officials say fraudsters will impersonate cell, internet, or landline companies and offer the victim a “deal they cannot pass on.” The scammer then asks for personal information, such as social insurance numbers or driver’s licence numbers, which is often used for identity fraud.
Police say in some cases, the scammer will order a cell phone with the stolen identity, ship it to the victim’s address, and ask them to send it to a final location– often a logistics company or criminal address.
To protect yourself, police advise that you:
- never provide personal details over the phone unless you made the call yourself;
- hang up on callers that claim to be your service provider, find a legitimate number for them, and call back yourself;
- never ship cell phones to an unknown address if asked, rather send it to the verified address of your service provider.
If you’ve been the victim of cybercrime or fraud, report it to your local police, and the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501 or its online system, regardless of whether you lost money.