Police warn public of fake cell phone promotional scam in Edmonton
Posted December 27, 2024 12:12 pm.
Last Updated December 27, 2024 12:14 pm.
Edmonton Police Service (EPS) are warning the public about a rise in a scam involving a fake cell phone promotional offer.
Police say the scam begins with the victim receiving a call from the scammer posing as a cell phone carrier representative, with recent incidents claiming to be associated with Telus.
The scammer tries to persuade the victim into buying one of their promotional offers. Once the victim agrees to buy, the scammer then asks for personal details about the victim such as account passwords, security codes and other information to complete the transaction.
The scammer logs into the victim’s legitimate cell phone provider account and orders a new phone to be shipped to the victim’s home address.
Once the phone arrives, the scammer informs the victim there is something wrong with the phone and they need to ship it back to an address the scammer provides.
The victim then inadvertently ships the phone to the scammer, who now has the new phone, while the victim is left with the bill from their cell phone provider, police say.
“The scam can be hard to spot at first, because the scammer is using the complainant’s actual cell phone account to order and ship them the phone,” says Det. Linda Herczeg with the EPS Financial Crimes Section. “That’s why we are warning citizens of this sophisticated scam. If you have lost money or provided personal information to this scam, please don’t hesitate to contact police.”
As of Dec. 18, 2024, the EPS has received 91 reports of this scam with a total reported loss of more than $600,000.
To avoid scams like this one, police recommend never giving out personal information including login credentials and verifying if the phone number is from a legitimate organization.
- Your can find more information on scams on the EPS website for more information about how to spot a scam and common frauds.
Anyone who believes they may have lost money or personal information in this scam is encouraged to report it to the EPS at 780-423-4567or #377 from a mobile phone.
