We continue to receive reports of scams involving individuals posing as representatives from banks and financial institutions, as well as scams involving individuals posing as Calgary Police Service officers.
In two recent press releases, we warned Calgarians of scams where victims were being targeted for their debit and credit cards and an additional scam where victims were being contacted by individuals posing as CPS officers.
Over the last two months, scammers have evolved their tactics and are using elements from both scams to continue to defraud Calgarians.
Since January 2025, there have been more than 30 reports from Calgarians who have received calls from individuals posing as CPS officers. Some of these calls have resulted in a combined loss of more than $43,000.
In a recent report, a victim was contacted via telephone by a scammer posing as an employee working at the victim’s bank. The caller stated they were calling in regard to a fraudulent charge on the victim’s credit card and she would be required to lock her cards to prevent further victimization.
The victim was referred to a website where she was instructed to input personal information including details about her financial cards. The victim was then informed she would be contacted by a Calgary Police Service officer who would arrange for the compromised card to be picked up.
The victim is believed to have received an email from an account using a CPS officer’s name to arrange a courier to pickup the cards. The cards were subsequently picked up by an unknown individual posing as a courier.
A short time later, the victim realized she was missing thousands of dollars from her account and contacted police.
Following an investigation, the entire situation is believed to be a scam. The caller was not an employee of a bank, the victim’s cards were not initially compromised, the website the victim used to lock her cards was illegitimate and the email account from the CPS officer was fraudulent.
In other instances, we have received reports from Calgarians who were contacted by individuals claiming to be our officers in relation to various incidents including:
· Asking to transfer cryptocurrency
· Requesting large payments for outstanding traffic tickets
· Encouraging monetary donations to the Calgary Police Service
· Asking to send gift cards
· Informing the person receiving the call they were a victim of fraud and requesting an abundance of personal details and financial information
Some of the calls are believed to appear on caller ID as a Calgary Police Service phone number, however, the calls are not originating from within the organization. If you receive this type of phone call hangup immediately.
The Calgary Police Service will never call or email and ask citizens to provide financial information or transfer money.
Calgarians are also asked to discuss this scam with members of their family to ensure they are aware that this behaviour is not the way officers will interact with Calgarians.
“We want to stress that Calgary Police Service officers will never contact anyone to ask for money, cryptocurrency, gift cards, donations or financial information including PINs, and will not send a courier to pick up bank cards that are no longer needed,” says Staff Sgt. Peter Duchnij of the Calgary Police Service Economic Crimes Unit. “These types of calls are seemingly convincing as the scammers are presenting themselves as our officers, and at times using names that reflect our current members, but Calgarians need to be aware that these calls do not align with police procedures, and if anyone receives a call of this nature, to hang up.”
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be a CPS officer, ask for the officer’s full name, regimental number and a case file number. Then hang up and call the CPS non-emergency line at 403-266-1234, to verify the individual before calling them back to continue the conversation.
Calgarians are reminded of the following tips to protect themselves from financial scams:
- Be suspicious of unexpected and unusual phone calls, especially ones demanding some form of urgent action, financial or otherwise.
- Do not share personal details, financial information or send money to the unknown caller.
- Our officers will never ask you to transfer money, cryptocurrency or gift cards as part of an investigation or suggest transactions as a way to guard your finances.
- If you are suspicious of a call regarding your finances, compromised cards or an unsolicited courier service, contact your bank or financial institution using a verified number on their website or app, or visit a branch in-person.
Anyone who has suffered a financial loss or who has had their personal information compromised because of fraud can report it to the Calgary Police Service by contacting the non-emergency line at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers using any of the following methods:
TALK: 1-800-222-8477
TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org
APP: P3 Tips