RCMP warn of fraudulent calls and emails impersonating Newfoundland and Labrador officers

The RCMP in Newfoundland and Labrador are warning the public about a cross-country scam involving fraudulent phone calls and emails from individuals claiming to be police officers.

RCMP headquarters in St. John’s is receiving reports from people across Canada who have been contacted by scammers posing as RCMP officers in the province.

In many cases, the calls appear to come from legitimate RCMP telephone numbers in Newfoundland and Labrador beginning with 709-772.

The scammers claim the recipient has been the victim of a financial scam and attempt to obtain personal, financial and other sensitive information.

The RCMP also report that fraudsters are asking potential victims to verify financial information through email addresses formatted like firstname.lastname@rcmp.gov. The force says these are not legitimate RCMP email addresses.

Police remind the public never to provide personal or financial information in response to unsolicited calls or messages, even when the sender claims to represent law enforcement.

The RCMP will never ask people to transfer money, provide remote access to their computers or share personal information — including banking details, dates of birth, addresses and phone numbers — through text or email.

Anyone who receives a suspicious call or email claiming to be from an RCMP officer should end the interaction and contact their local police detachment directly to verify the communication or report the incident.