Calls that show “RCMP” on caller ID are hitting Albertans. The number can be faked

Since late October 2026, RCMP detachments across Alberta have been warning about the same scam: a phone call that looks like it comes from the police. The caller ID shows a detachment’s name or its real phone number, and the person or recording on the line says your personal information has been compromised or that you’re connected to a criminal investigation. The goal is to scare you into handing over personal details, banking information, codes or money.

The warnings have come from Wood Buffalo (October 22), Red Deer (October 29), Enoch (November 3 reports), Parkland (November 5), Olds (November 6) and, most recently, Kitscoty (November 9).

How the scam works

The caller ID is faked. Scammers use technology to make a call show any name or number they like. That’s called spoofing. Enoch and Parkland RCMP say calls have displayed the detachment’s name or its own 24-hour complaint or non-emergency line.

The story is urgent. In Enoch, one call played a recorded message: “Someone has been apprehended and arrested with your critical information with them. Please press #1 to speak to an officer.” Enoch RCMP says its complaint line doesn’t use automated messages. In Red Deer, callers claimed to be sergeants and gave false regimental numbers, told people police were investigating their involvement in a crime or that their information had been compromised, and in some cases sent them to a link. Red Deer RCMP says these calls also reached people in Ontario.

The ask comes next. Wood Buffalo RCMP heard from people called by a supposed “cybercrime unit” or variations of the RCMP’s name, with reports from Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Ontario, according to a roundup by DiscoverAirdrie. Olds RCMP says callers have also posed as government representatives, banks and cybercrime investigators, and push people for personal information, banking details, passwords, security codes or payment. Gift cards, cryptocurrency and wire transfers are the red flags police mention most.

“Fraudsters often create a sense of urgency to pressure victims into sharing personal information or taking immediate action,” Staff Sgt. Sabrina Clayton of Wood Buffalo RCMP said. She said police and government agencies won’t demand sensitive personal information over the phone or threaten arrest if you don’t comply immediately.

Why it works

A familiar number on your screen feels like proof. It isn’t. Kitscoty RCMP put it simply: a familiar number or an official-sounding title doesn’t confirm who is calling. The opening line, “your information was found” or “you’re linked to a case,” is chosen because many people have been in a real data breach and might believe it.

What you can do

1. Hang up and call back yourself. Look up the detachment’s number on rcmp.ca or a bill or letter you already have, and dial it. Don’t press 1, and don’t use a number the caller gives you.
2. Never share codes, passwords, banking details or your SIN with someone who called you, however official they sound.
3. Don’t pay anyone who calls about an “investigation.” Police don’t take gift cards, cryptocurrency or wire transfers, and they don’t threaten arrest over the phone.
4. Don’t open links sent during or after the call.
5. If you shared banking details or sent money, call your bank right away. Then report it to your local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501, even if you didn’t lose anything. RCMP detachments ask for reports because they help warn others.
6. Talk to someone you trust before acting on a scary call. Police suggest this in nearly every warning.

How Frame helps

Scam callers often start with details from old data breaches to sound credible. Frame can look up your verified emails in Have I Been Pwned’s breach database so you know which of your details are already out there, and Frame’s breach checklists explain what each one exposed. Frame never collects or stores the leaked records themselves.

Related coverage

• The fraud centre will not charge you to get your money back: a related scam where callers pretend to be the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
• A revised tax notice that is not in your CRA account is a scam: the same trick of borrowing a government agency’s authority.
• SIM swaps: how someone takes your phone number, and how to lock it down in Canada: what to do if a scammer gets your codes.
• Korea warns of “relay” phone scams that start with a fake community centre call: the same impersonation playbook in South Korea, with callers posing as one institution after another.

Sources

• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Alberta), Red Deer RCMP advise of phone number “spoofing” and shares tips to prevent identity theft, October 29, 2026
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Alberta), Enoch RCMP advise of phone number and caller ID spoofing scam calls, November 5, 2026
• Heartland News, Parkland RCMP warns of phone spoofing spam calls, November 6, 2026
• DiscoverAirdrie, Multiple RCMP detachments warn of police impersonation scams, November 2026
• Meridian Source, Kitscoty RCMP warns of police-spoofing phone scams, November 9, 2026