Yet another scam appears to be making the rounds — this time under the guise of collecting information about the local police department.
BradfordToday and InnisfilToday received a call from a line marked “Survey” on June 5. When it was answered, an automated message said the local police service was seeking input from residents and the study was sponsored by "town hall" and other police agencies.
It asked that a dial-pad number be pressed to receive a link to a survey.
This reporter hung up at that point.
South Simcoe Police Service, the local department, confirmed June 6 that it had not commissioned such a survey.
According to the department, fraudsters will create spoofed websites, set up fake telephone numbers using Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) to mimic legitimate ones, have victims download remote entry software providing access to devices and computers or send out phishing texts pretending to be businesses or governments.
Officers advise residents hang up the phone, and learn to recognize the signs of phishing and spoofing calls.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says people across the country lost $567 million due to scams in 2023 — an increase of $37 million from 2022 and $187 million since 2021.
For more information on fraud protection, or to report a potential scam, visit antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
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