The police are reminding Northerners to be diligent when receiving calls, as a recent phone scam from "Michael from Mississagua" has been targeting Bell customers.

Sheila O'Kane told Inuvik Drum she received a call from someone using an alias who said Bell would be cutting her phone bill in half for the next two years.

"Too good to be true!" she said, adding the caller began attempting to verify her email and cellphone number. She hung up.

NT media relations officer Const. Josh Seaward said a lot of scam calls are never reported as many Northerners realize what's going on and simply end the conversation.

He noted scam phone calls are considered fraud under the Criminal Code of Canada and that he had personally received a similar scam call several times in 2024.

"We can keep a few things in mind and adopt some cautionary practices when trying to recognize and deal with these calls," he said. "Scammers are generally offering things too good to be true, like a phone bill being cut in half. Legitimate organizations do not call and then request details they should already have from you. Caller ID can be falsified. DonSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™t believe that a caller is who they say they are, unless you can verify it.

"DonSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™t give out sensitive information to unknown entities," Seaward added. "If you did not initiate the phone call, you do not know who you are speaking with. If there is any suspicion that you are receiving a scam call, hang up. Call back the 'organization' on their official phone number. Most call centres and companies have notes or records on customer files that indicate when a customer has been contacted. You can ask for this information to check if you have been contacted legitimately."

He noted that suspect calls should be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which maintains a list of circulating scams, information on how to protect oneself and what to do if you are the victim of a scam.