Toronto police warn of phone scam where fraudsters claim to be Shanghai police
Scammers' caller ID appears as the phone number for Toronto Police Service's 52 Division, police say
Toronto police are warning the public about a telephone scam involving fraudsters claiming to be officers from the Shanghai police.
In a news release on Thursday, police said it is believed the calls are being used to obtain personal and financial information for fraudulent purposes.
Police say individual scammers contact people by phone, claiming to be a member of the Shanghai police, and provide a false name and badge number. The scammer's caller ID appears as the phone number for the Toronto Police Service's 52 Division, police say.
Police say the scammers claim they are investigating fraudulent credit card activity involving the person and the other end of the phone and asks them to provide personal banking information to stop the alleged fraud.
"If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer, ask for their name and badge number, then hang up and call police directly to verify their identity," police said in the release.
Police are also reminding people to never provide personal or banking information to someone over the phone and say that "any such request should be treated as a scam."