RENFREW COUNTY (Pembroke) — The Upper Ottawa Valley Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) would like to warn residents of a phone scam that has recently surfaced in the area. The scammer tells the intended victim that fraudulent accounts have been opened in their name.
Using call spoofing technology, the scammer programs the call display to show the OPP’s non-emergency 1-888 number. In some cases the call display may read “Ontario Provincial Police”. The scammers pretend to be the police and ask for personal information including Social Insurance Numbers (SIN) and banking information.
The police will not ask for this type of information over the phone and the OPP would like to remind everyone to verify the legitimacy of any caller before providing any personal information over the phone.
If a scam artist contacts you or if you have been defrauded contact your local police service or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or visit their website at www.antifraudcentre.ca