(Manitouwadge, ON) – The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Manitouwadge Detachment is warning residents about fraudulent phone calls that are being received by several concerned residents from Manitouwadge.
On Monday, June 1st, 2015, a concerned resident contacted the OPP to report that they had received a phone call from an unknown male claiming to be an officer from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The caller advised the resident that there was a warrant for their arrest and that they needed to pay an outstanding fine immediately.
The OPP would like to remind residents that they may receive, either by telephone, mail, or email, a communication that claims to be from the RCMP however this is most times NOT the RCMP. In these cases, the caller requests personal information, such as a social insurance, credit card, bank account, and passport numbers, from the resident. These fraudulent communications are also referred to as scams or phishing.
The RCMP does not do the following:
· The RCMP will not request personal information of any kind from a taxpayer by e-mail or phone.
· The RCMP will not demand payment for any process over the phone
· The RCMP will not leave any personal information on an answering machine.
When in doubt, ask yourself the following:
· Do I owe money to the RCMP?
· Does this sound too good to be true?
· Is the requester asking for information I would not include with my tax return
· Is the requester asking for information I know the RCMP already has on file for me?
· How did the requester get my phone number?
· How confident am I knowing who is asking for the information?
Problems like identity theft are becoming more prevalent, and now more than ever residents need to ensure that they secure and protect their personal information. This is the key to prevention.
FRAUD – RECOGNIZE IT….REPORT IT….STOP IT….
For more information on fraud or to report a possible scam, call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca.
