RCMP make arrest, urge people to be wary of cold calls offering phone upgrades

A pedestrian talking on a mobile phone is silhouetted in front of a fountain at John F. Kennedy Plaza in Philadelphia, on Oct. 11, 2012. (Matt Rourke / THE CANADIAN PRESS / AP)

RCMP in Alberta are warning people to be careful if they get a call out of the blue asking them if they want to upgrade their phone.

Police say fraudsters are cold calling people asking if they want an upgrade.

They say it all sounds very legitimate and the fraudsters will try to pry personal information out of the target or even send them emails that look real, with stolen logos.

If the fraud works, the victim then orders the phone through the actual phone provider.

But when the phone arrives, the fraudster then calls back to say it’s the wrong phone and asks the victim to send it to a different address, allowing the fraudster to keep the new device.

The warning comes after police say they have made an arrest of someone who was allegedly receiving these returned phones.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2026.