The York Regional Police #1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau have issued a press release warning citizens to be wary of fraudulent phone calls. This includes fake caller ID information, as well as individuals pretending to be government officials.
“In recent incidents, fraudsters have contacted victims by telephone and identified themselves as a Crown Attorney or judge from the Newmarket Courts. The fraudster tells the victim to provide a monetary payment or financial information to avoid their assets from being seized or frozen,” says Constable Maniva Armstrong.
The police press release mentions that in most cases, the bad actors pose as government agencies, police services, the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), and other legal entities.
As always, it’s important to maintain a healthy amount of suspicion when receiving unfamiliar or unexpected phone calls. The caller ID system is easily spoofed, making it an unreliable source of identity confirmation.
York Regional Police asks that all victims or suspected victims of a phone call fraud case report the incident to its official website, or to call 1-866-876-5423 as soon as possible.
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Source: York Regional Police
