Scammers pose as NL Mounties in scheme to steal personal information

The RCMP is warning the public of a Canada-wide scam in which fraudsters are pretending to be police officers from Newfoundland and Labrador in an effort to gain personal and financial information.

RCMP headquarters in St. John’s has received reports from people across the country who received a phone call from scammers claiming to work with the Mounties in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In many cases, the calls appeared to be coming from legitimate RCMP NL phone numbers.

“These scammers will claim that you are the victim of a financial scam, and attempt to obtain personal, financial and sensitive information,” police wrote in a media release issued late Wednesday evening.

“Scammers are also asking potential victims to verify financial information via e-mail, using e-mail addresses that follow the format firstname.lastname@rcmp.gov. This is not a legitimate RCMP email address.”

Similar scams have been reported in Saskatchewan and B.C., with the Mounties in those provinces also issuing public warnings over the last week.

Police are urging people never to provide their personal, credit card or banking details in response to unsolicited messages, even from someone claiming to be a member of law enforcement.

“The RCMP will never ask you to transfer money, for remote access to your computer, or for personal information including your name, date of birth, phone number, email, address or banking details through text or email,” the Mounties stated.

Anyone who receives a suspicious call or message from someone claiming to be an RCMP officer should hang up the phone and immediately report the incident to the nearest police detachment.