RCMP warns of spoofed Ontario police numbers
Scammers are faking the agency's central communications line to trick residents into sharing personal details.
By Julian Kobayashi ·
Ontario residents are being urged to ignore callback numbers provided by callers claiming to be Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers. The warning follows reports that fraudsters are spoofing the agency’s Central Region Operational Communications Centre phone number to mimic official lines.
The RCMP issued the alert through social media channels. The agency advised that if a person claiming to be an officer asks for a callback to a specific number, recipients should not dial that number. They should also withhold personal information until the caller’s identity is confirmed through a different method.
To verify the identity of a caller, the RCMP recommended contacting the local detachment directly. This step ensures the person on the other end of the line is a legitimate officer rather than an impersonator.
This new caution extends a series of recent advisories regarding police impersonation scams. Previously, the RCMP warned about fraudsters using false delivery notices for court documents. Those scammers threatened victims with accusations of serious crimes or demanded payment to bail loved ones out of jail.
Caller ID spoofing involves altering the number displayed on the recipient’s phone screen. Edward Kiledjian, a Toronto-based cybersecurity expert who spoke to Metroland Media, noted that the technology is easily accessible. He stated that the number displayed on a screen is not proof of who is calling.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission explains that spoofing has legitimate uses. Call centre agents sometimes use it to display a client’s number, and doctors may use it to show a hospital’s general callback number when discussing lab results.
Fraudsters have used this tactic for years across North America. Scammers in Ontario and elsewhere frequently spoof numbers for trusted organizations, such as banks, police forces, and the Canada Revenue Agency. Some telemarketers also use the practice, known as neighbouring, to match the first six digits of a recipient’s number to make the call appear local.
Source: Burlington Post
