London police are reminding residents not to provide personal or financial information over the phone to people claiming to be from Immigration Canada.
As part of an on-going immigration scam, an individual claiming to be an employee of Immigration Canada has been calling people across southwestern Ontario, including London. The fraudster threatens the person with arrest or deportation to get them to provide personal or financial information.
In some cases, the phoney employee has become aggressive to get the victim to comply with their demands, according to police.
Police are urging Londoners to never provide personal or financial information to anyone unless they are certain of that person's identity. Fraudsters frequently spoof real law enforcement phone numbers using call display apps.
Police also advise that the Canada Border Service Agency, which is responsible for immigration enforcement, will never demand Bitcoins, iTunes cards, gaming cards, prepaid credit cards or gift cards, money gram or e-transfer or wire transfer to avoid arrest or deportation.
Anyone who has received a suspicious call, text, or email is asked to report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or to the London Police Service Fraud Telephone Intake line at 519-661-5515 ext. 5257.
