The Northumberland Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) would like to warn the public of a scam that is currently circulating in Northumberland County involving Social Insurance Numbers.
Community members are receiving phone calls from individuals claiming to be police officers or someone from a government agency, stating that they are currently under investigation because their SIN number was involved in one or more criminal offence(s).
Scammers often use a process called “spoofing” to make it appear that an incoming call that may be displayed on your caller ID is coming from a local area number, or a government agency that you may already know and trust to aid in making you believe it may be a legitimate call.
These perpetrators often use intimidation techniques or threats of legal action to create a sense of urgency, prompting you to comply with the demand to immediately provide, or verify your social insurance number or other types of confidential information.
Personal information, including SINs, can be used by fraudsters to commit a variety of financial crimes, including identity theft and other types of fraud. To avoid becoming a victim, hang up and give yourself a bit of time to realize the request is suspicious. Check and verify the information by calling a trusted phone number in which you have found and not the number provided by the caller. Call friends or family members or even the police to make inquiries.
To learn more about how to recognize a scam and protect yourself against fraud visit https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/security/protect-yourself-against-fraud.html
To report a fraud or scam please call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or report it online using the following link http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/reportincident-signalerincident/index-eng.htm.
Information about ongoing scams in Canada are available through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by visiting www.antifraudcentre.ca.