09/30/2026
Voicemail and other Scams on the Rise
There has been a massive increase in scammer activity within Canada and the IT industry is seeing a significant rise from within Canadian borders, whereas it previously originated from abroad, predominately in Pakistan, India, Indonesia and some African countries. Government legislation needs to be focussed on this problem as it cuts through all demographics. where no one is immune.
Independent companies such as RingCentral have been trying to combat this by requiring proof of residence with regards to VOIP numbers, but this isnt hard to circumvent either. VOIP basically allows scammers to change their number and locations at will, making it look like they are in your home town. It also gives them the ability to create any Caller ID they want.
Calls can be labelled as coming from Amazon, Banks, Credit Cards, CRA, Government Dept's, Insurance, Creditor companies and even the police. It used to be simply Microsoft but this although still doing its rounds, is fast being replaced by any other possible way of conning people out of their hard earned money and savings.
The most recent one, although not new per se, is the voicemail scam. The ID looks like its your voicemail calling and you hit this and it you hit answer and you usually end up with a bot or some person trying to convince you something is wrong or is owed, attempting to get you to give them money, personal details and so on. If you call them back, they will realise its an active number too and you will be added to a list with as many details as they can get and sell this on.
Another rising issue, is stealing your voice, they will record your voice as a sample and use it for verification purposes when trying to create or steal account. Many of these scammers now look for certain words or phrases to be used when answering the phone, such as Yes and Hello, they use a lot of AI tools to create voices that sound like you or other people you know. They can generate a whole vocabulary from very few words you speak.
Be on your guard, never give out your information to anyone unless you are absolutely sure its the genuine person calling. Always check the company/business number to call back by going to their website, or check the back of your bank card, or bill for the information, never accept any number they give you is real, unless it is a genuine interaction.
Educate yourself on how these scams work, as it can protect you and others in the long run.
