By Sgt. G.D. Simpson,
Clearwater RCMP Detachment Commander
At roughly 9:30 a.m. on June 12, a Clearwater man called the RCMP detachment to see if a member from here had just phoned him saying that they were going to come and arrest him. He was told that this was a scam as police would never call anyone to advise them that they were coming to arrest them.
The complainant said that an Ontario number called asking him for the detachment number, which he gave them, and was told that someone from his local detachment would be getting a hold of him. Coincidently the person also wanted to know his bank account number which the complainant did not give, but did tell them who he banks with and how much he had in his two accounts.
The complainant then received a call from the Clearwater detachment phone number and a person saying they were a police officer, and being very threatening, said they were going to come and arrest him; he told them, “Go ahead because I have broken no laws,” and hung up.
The complainant called the number back which was the Clearwater detachment number. Cst. Lockwood advised the complainant that no police officer had called him and that this is a scam.
He was told to hang up if they call back and not to provide them any personal information.
To reiterate, police will not call someone to tell them they are coming to arrest them and will not ask for banking information in order to mitigate this impending arrest.
Additionally, if someone identifying themselves as a police officer calls, asking for the local detachment number, this should send up warning signs immediately, as it is a scam.