Scammers use spoofing tech to make it look like local police are calling victims about a seized package
Officers are warning of a scam circulating in Metro Vancouver using technology that makes victims think the calls are from local police.
The New Westminster Police Department said some of these calls appear to be from its members.
In a news release Monday, the NWPD said people have received such calls recently in the city.
Targets of the scammers are told they're speaking to a police officer, and that packages for them have been seized at the border.
Potential victims are told there's been a warrant issued for their arrest, and asked for personal information.
The NWPD did not say what information the scammers are looking for, but in similar schemes callers ask for details including credit card information.
"If you receive one of these calls, block their number and hang up," Sgt. Sanjay Kumar said in a statement.
Anyone who's fallen for the scam is encouraged to call police and file a report. Some types of fraud can even be reported online.
Those who got the call but didn't share any information are asked to report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online or by phone.
The technology used in the latest round of fraudulent calls is not new, and the NWPD is not the first department in B.C. to be tied to such a scam.
The Kelowna RCMP detachment is one example. Back in the fall of 2019, Mounties warned residents of the Okanagan area that someone was making calls, pretending to be a police officer and demanding information they claimed would help an investigating into money laundering.
A Canada Revenue Agency scam just a month before the warning issued by Kelowna RCMP saw would-be victims receiving calls from someone pretending to be a member of the Vancouver Police Department.
In that case, the spammers made the calls look like they were coming from the VPD's non-emergency line.
And in 2018, a police officer in Port Moody showed even constables can be targeted when he posted video of his interaction with someone claiming to be an officer with the CRA.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.