Police across Ontario are warning residents about a sharp rise in sophisticated bank impersonation scams, with victims in Toronto, Guelph, Bracebridge and other communities losing thousands of dollars in recent weeks.
Investigators say fraudsters are posing as bank officials, credit investigators or security agents and using caller ID spoofing to make it appear the call is coming from a legitimate financial institution. In several cases, scammers have gone as far as sending a “ride-share courier” to victims’ homes to collect debit or credit cards.
According to Toronto Police Service, one elderly victim lost about $4,000 after handing over a bank card to a courier following a call from someone claiming to be a credit investigator. Ontario Provincial Police in Bracebridge reported a similar case, while Guelph Police Service said a local resident was defrauded of roughly $28,000 after a caller claimed their banking details had been compromised.
Police say the scam—sometimes called the “phantom hacker” scheme—often involves multiple steps. Victims may be transferred between fake departments, urged to download remote-access software, asked to move money to so-called “safe” accounts, or tricked into sharing multifactor authentication codes. In some cases, scammers already have partial personal or banking information, making the calls seem more credible.
Cybersecurity experts warn residents not to trust caller ID alone. Toronto-based expert Edward Kiledjian said phone numbers can be easily spoofed and urged people to hang up and call their bank directly using the number on their card or the institution’s official website.
Police and the Canadian Bankers Association stress that banks will never make unsolicited calls asking for personal information, passwords or verification codes. Anyone who receives a suspicious call is advised to hang up immediately, contact their bank through official channels, and report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.