Delta Police are warning the public of phone scammers that are posing as law enforcement or taxation authorities.
There are two different schemes underway in Delta that are prompting the warning.
In the first, callers are claiming to be fund raising for the "Delta Police Anti-bullying Initiative."
The callers are using unidentified or blocked phone numbers and request credit card donations for the initiative.
The scammers are looking to get a hold of people's credit card information to use for other purposes.
Delta Police are reminding residents that police do not solicit donations by phone or email.
The second scam is a well-documented one in which scammers call (or email) potential victims pretending to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
The goal of these scams is to access your personal and/or banking information.
Often, the scammers add an air of legitimacy by using phone spoofing programs that allow them to display callback numbers legitimately associated to the businesses they pretend to be calling from.
You can read more about the CRA scams at the Canada Revenue Agency website.
To protect yourself against scammers:
- Never provide personal information over the phone unless you are speaking to a trusted, confirmed source;
- Do your research: before providing any personal information or donating any money, hang up and double check the information through sources you trust;
- Do not click on any links in unsolicited emails;
- If in doubt, delete the email or hang up the phone;
- Report attempted frauds to your local police department even if you did not lose any money. Your reports can help warn and protect others.