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Shoppers Drug Mart warns of phone scammers

A pedestrian walks past a Shoppers Drug Mart in Ottawa November 10, 2010.
A pedestrian walks past a Shoppers Drug Mart in Ottawa November 10, 2010. (REUTERS/Chris Wattie)

Shoppers Drug Mart is the latest business being used as a ploy by telephone scammers looking for personal and financial information.

The Canadian pharmacy chain posted a warning on their Facebook page, encouraging customers to hang up should they receive a call from a person claiming to be “someone at Shoppers Drug Mart.”

Several of the commenters on the post wrote that they’d received a phone call from someone saying they were from Shoppers, informing them they had won a trip. One commenter wrote that they received a similar call, telling them they needed to update their medical records and SIN number.

Shoppers Drug Mart released a similar warning about a phone scam back in January, where the caller would claim to have a prescription for pick-up and then ask for the person’s personal information.

Phone scams often result in identity theft, fraud and theft from a person’s bank account or credit card.

In recent weeks, there have been several warnings about phone scammers across the country. Fraudsters have been calling Canadians claiming to be with various police departments, or the Canada Revenue Agency. The caller tells the person there’s been fraudulent activity to their SIN or credit card and then asks for payment through Bitcoin.

Click here for more information from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.