Oct 28, 2026
On the morning of Oct. 23, Lynn Clark Colpitts of Lower Truro, Nova Scotia, got a call from someone claiming to work in CIBC’s fraud department. The caller alerted Clark Colpitts applied for a credit card in her name and told her to download a CIBC Guard app to block it.
She didn’t. Instead, a friend told her to contact her bank directly. When the caller realized she wasn’t playing along, they called back, agitated, and said a surprise was waiting at her door. The surprise: a large police presence, responding to a fake report that she was being held hostage by three armed people.
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The swatting Clark Colpitts experienced was shocking, but it was the fallout of a botched scam attempt. The con that set it up — a caller posing as your bank — is far more common, and it’s costing Canadians millions. Knowing how these calls work, and what a real bank or police officer will never ask for, is the simplest way to keep your money where it belongs and not fall victim to a bad actor.
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What is swatting and why would a scammer use it?
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s national police service, Colchester County District RCMP and Truro Police Service officers received a report around 9:45 am on Oct. 23 and found the woman safe.
“It appears to be a level of retribution by the fraudsters in this case,” Staff Sgt. Marc Rose, commander of Colchester County District RCMP, told CBC News.
“[It appears] they did this to cause her harm and pain and distress by having the police respond to her residence all because she didn’t follow the original instructions on the phone.”
The fraudster resorted to swatting, a fake report designed to trigger an armed police response, when they realized Clark Colpitts stopped complying.
CBC News also reached out to CIBC, which said that there is no such app as CIBC Guard. The bank also noted that it would never contact customers to retrieve personal or financial information or instruct them to download an app.
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So why would a fraudster go that far? Police haven’t confirmed what the caller hoped to achieve with this stunt. What’s clear is that the swatting wasn’t the scam itself — it was an attempt at impersonation that ultimately failed.
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Why do fake bank and police calls work so well?
Clark Colpitts’ call fits a pattern that the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) calls bank investigator fraud. A bad actor poses as a bank, police or another trusted organization, claims your account has been compromised and then asks you to move money, share banking details or help with a supposed investigation.
Whether it’s an urgent account alert or a threat of arrest, the goal is to pressure you into acting before you’ve had time to reflect.
Canadians reported about $28.6 million in losses to bank investigator fraud in the first half of 2026 alone. That compares with roughly $37.4 million for all of 2025.
Police impersonation follows a similar playbook. On Oct. 21, RCMP in Newfoundland and Labrador warned of a cross-Canada scam in which calls appear to come from real RCMP detachment numbers. Callers then ask victims to verify financial information by email addresses with the following format: [email protected] — these are not legitimate.
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The RCMP says it will never ask you to transfer money, give remote access to your computer or share personal information, including your name, date of birth, address or banking details, by text or email.
Impersonation is also behind two other fraud categories:
- Extortion — about $25.5 million lost in the first half of 2026, already more than the roughly $23 million reported in all of 2025. Fake police officers often threaten arrest or deportation unless the victim pays
- Recovery fraud — about $13.7 million lost in the first half of 2026, compared with about $25.9 million in all of 2025. Scammers pose as police, government agencies or banks and promise to recover lost money, for a fee
What to do now
If a call from your bank or local police catches you off guard, here are some steps to avoid falling victim to a fraudster:
- Hang up and call your bank using the number on your card or its official website
- Don’t download an app, click any links or give remote access to your devices at a caller’s request
- Never transfer money to a “safe account”
- Never share passwords, personal information including your Social Insurance Number or banking details with an unexpected caller
- Don’t trust caller ID, since numbers can be spoofed to look legitimate
- Talk to someone you trust before sending money, especially if you feel pressured or threatened
- Never pay anyone upfront to recover money lost to fraud — especially if they’re supposed to be from a legitimate organization
If you think you’ve been targeted, contact your financial institution right away, then report it to local police and the CAFC.
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Writer and editor based in Toronto with experience in personal finance, insurance, arts and culture and branded content.
