Fraudsters are calling people across Canada from what looks like the real Stephenville RCMP line, claiming you are a fraud victim. Here is how to spot it.
Scam callers are posing as police and using the real phone number of the RCMP detachment in Stephenville to do it. The Bay St. George RCMP says people across Canada have reported calls that appear to come from 709-643-2118, the detachment's main line.
The callers claim to work with the RCMP. They tell people they are the victim of a fraud or cyber crime. The goal is to get personal, financial and sensitive information. In similar earlier scams, people were asked to confirm financial details by email, using addresses shaped like firstname.lastname@rcmp.gov. The RCMP says that is not a real RCMP email address.
Caller ID only shows a number, and scammers can fake it. A real police number on your screen does not prove the call is real. Being told you are a victim is a way to rattle you into acting fast.
The RCMP says it will never ask you to transfer money. It will never ask for remote access to your computer, which means letting someone control it from afar. It also will not ask for your name, date of birth, phone number, email, address or banking details by text or email.
The RCMP has not said how many people have been reached, whether anyone has lost money, or how the scammers got the detachment's number. It also has not said what to do if you already shared details. The steps in the alert box above cover what to do if a call like this comes in.
A real police number on your screen proves nothing, so hang up and call your local detachment yourself before sharing anything.
The Attala County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi says scam calls are reaching residents, and a call that sounds official may not be.
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