Scammers Are Legit Pretending To Be Mounties To Steal Cash & Identities From Canadians

It is time to screen your calls, folks — some scammers are sneakily "spoofing" an RCMP detachment phone number and are hustling personal information out of callers.

On Friday, the RCMP issued a public warning of fraudulent calls that are claiming to come directly from an RCMP detachment in London, Ontario.

The RCMP's digits were used to scam victims into handing out personal information like their Social Insurance Nuber (SIN), and the fraudsters went as far as telling some of the callers that they're under an RCMP investigation and well be subsequently arrested unless they cough up some bills within the next few hours.

"Spoofing occurs when a caller identification (called ID) or call display are manipulated to show trusted phone numbers," RCMP officers warned. "This tricks people into answering the call and believing they are speaking with a trusted source. Do not use call display as a way to authenticate who is calling. Fraudsters may use a variety of other telephone scam tactics as well. The scams are designed to create anxiety so that victims respond by sending money quickly in order to fix the problem."

The RCMP advises you to immediately hang up if you receive any threatening callers posing as police or any other government agent, as Canadian police services don't contact residents for the purpose of collecting money or fines.

If you or anyone you know has received one of these calls or something similar, contact your local authorities, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) at 1-888-495-8501.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.