The Toronto Police Service (TPS) has asked locals to remain vigilant and be wary of telephone scams involving the impersonation of Toronto police officers.
Police said several members of the public have recently received calls from phone numbers falsely displaying caller ID for TPS. When the phone is answered, the caller would fraudulently identify themselves as a police officer in need of personal information.
The caller would also provide a fake name and badge number to earn a potential victim's trust, police said.
The scam utilizes a technique known as caller ID spoofing, in which a person falsifies the phone number they are calling from with the intention of enticing a victim to answer the phone.
In these instances, the caller ID displayed the phone number 416-808-5200, which is the correct number to the TPS 52 division.
Police said the suspect would tell a potential victim they are investigating fraudulent activity and would encourage them to contact the Chinese authorities to report the crime.
The caller would allegedly attempt to obtain the victim's personal information for fraudulent purposes, TPS reported.
To avoid being scammed, TPS has urged members of the public who receive a call from Toronto police to obtain the caller's name and badge number. Then they should hang up and call TPS back directly to confirm whether the original call is legitimate.
You should never provide personal information to an unknown person over the phone, TPS reminded.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact police at 416-808-5200 or to submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or www.222tips.com.
