The Toronto Police Service is making the public aware of a telephone scam involving the impersonation of Toronto police officers using a spoofing technique known as Caller ID Spoofing.
Caller ID Spoofing involves a person falsifying the phone number from which they are calling with the intention of getting you to take their call. On your caller ID, it might appear that the call is coming from a legitimate business or government agency, such as the Toronto Police Service.
There have been several instances of members of the public receiving phone calls from someone identifying themselves as officers from the Toronto Police Service (TPS) requesting personal information.
It is reported that a suspect calls a resident by telephone, stating that they are a police officer, and provides a false name and badge number.
The caller ID shows a phone number of 416-808-5200, which is the correct phone number to 52 division, Toronto Police Service. However, these calls do not originate from the TPS.
The suspect tells the person that they are investigating fraudulent activity and to contact the Chinese authorities to report this.
The suspect may also place a video call and record the interaction.
It is believed that the suspect is attempting to obtain personal information from the victim for fraudulent purposes
The Toronto Police Service is reminding the public that if they receive a phone call from someone identifying themselves as a police officer, obtain their name and badge number, then call back the police directly to confirm whether it is a legitimate call.
Never provide personal information to an unknown person over the phone.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5200, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
