Cops warn of scammers using spoofed 52 Division phone line to trick victims

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Take names. Hang up. Call the police directly.

That was the advice from Toronto Police after they alerted the public about a spike in fraudulent phone calls where scammers are impersonating officers to gain sensitive banking and credit card information.

The police service issued the alert Wednesday after receiving reports in the downtown area about scammers spoofing the legitimate 52 Division phone number and then identifying themselves as Shanghai Police before providing fake names and badge numbers.

“But these calls are not from the police service,” Const. Stephanie Miceli said in a video released on social media as police noted that the calls originate from a different phone number. “The scammers claim that they are investigating fraudulent credit card activity and ask victims for their personal banking information.”

Police said they believe the callers, however, are attempting to obtain personal and financial information for fraudulent purposes, while at the same time claiming to help stop a fictional fraud.

“Toronto Police officers will never request personal banking information over the phone,” Const. Laurie McCann said in a statement. “Any such request should be treated as a scam.”

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They added that people can take steps to protect themselves by not providing personal or banking information over the phone to someone they don’t know and by reporting any suspicious activity to the police.

“Remember, if someone calls claiming to be a police officer, get their name and badge number, then hang up and call police directly to confirm,” Miceli said.

Anyone with information is urged to call police at 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.