TISDALE — The Tisdale RCMP is making public two alleged telephone scams in order to ensure the public doesn’t fall victim to them.
On Oct. 21, the Tisdale RCMP received a complaint of the scam where the suspect called the complainant, alleging they represented STARS Lottery.
The suspect told them that they were drawn for a cash prize and needed to provide further information to register and collect their winnings.
The out of country phone number associated to the scheme was 876-354-9406. The complainant quickly recognized this to be a scam and concluded the call without providing further information.
STARS (Saskatoon) confirmed they do not have an active STARS Lottery at this time.
In addition to this case, the detachment received another complaint about a scam phone call on the same day.
In this case, the complainant answered a call that came from an alleged Ontario phone number of 613-543-2198. The complainant answered the phone where an automated voice message advised that they were with Service Canada.
The automated voice message claimed that the complainant had several warrants and was to stay on the line to speak to one of their officers or else they would be arrested.
Upon doing so, someone came on the line and identified themselves as an “officer” with a fictitious name and identification number.
The RCMP said that the fake officer then requested personal identification information from the complainant, including their Social Insurance Number to verify their file before proceeding.
The complainant refused to give the information causing the fake officer to become belligerent on the phone, at which point the call was terminated.
The Tisdale RCMP is using the two cases to remind the public to exercise caution when answering suspicious calls and to avoid giving any personal or financial information over the phone.
The RCMP stated that it is not uncommon for fraudsters to use pressure tactics to get the information they are targeting
In addition to reporting the matter to local law enforcement agency, the Tisdale RCMP encourages the complainant to note the suspect phone number and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
