Wednesday evening started like any other for a Calgary woman until her phone rang just before 6 p.m.
The caller ID said Bank of Montreal. The man on the other end was calm, professional, and convincing. He told her he was calling from BMO's fraud investigations department. Her debit and credit cards had been compromised, he said. They needed to act fast.
To prove he was legitimate, he read back her full name, her home address, her date of birth. He had everything. She believed him.
His instructions were specific. Cut up your cards. A courier is on the way to collect them so they can be properly disposed of. Wait for him.
She cut up her cards. At around 6 p.m., a grey Chevrolet SUV pulled up outside her home. A man got out, took the pieces from her hands, and drove away.
At 8:15 p.m., her phone buzzed. A real text alert from BMO a $12,500 transaction had just processed at Ace Casino on Blackfoot Trail SE.
She called BMO immediately. The bank confirmed what she already knew by then. Nobody from BMO had called her that evening. The fraud department had never heard of her case. The man who came to her door was not a courier.
She had been robbed at her own front door and never saw it coming.
How the Scam Works
Spoofing a bank's phone number takes minutes. Software that makes any number appear on a caller ID costs almost nothing and is widely available. The personal information name, address, date of birth is typically sourced from data breaches. Most Canadians have had that information exposed at least once in the past decade without knowing it.
What makes this scheme harder to spot than a typical phone scam is the courier step. Scammers know that asking for a card number over the phone raises red flags. So instead they walk victims through cutting up their own cards which feels like a security measure while the card data has already been captured earlier in the call, or the pieces are later reassembled to clone the chip. Either way, the account stays live long enough to drain.
From the time the SUV left her driveway to the casino transaction: two hours and fifteen minutes.
Who Police Are Looking For
Calgary Police are asking the public to help identify the man who came to her door.
He is described as being in his mid-20s, approximately 5'9" tall, around 160 pounds, with short black hair and a black beard. At the time he was wearing glasses, a long grey overcoat, and black pants.
If you recognize this description or have any information, contact Calgary Police at 403-266-1234. To report anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, visit calgarycrimestoppers.org, or submit a tip through the P3 Tips app. Reference case number CA26220639/5335.
What Your Bank Will Never Do
No Canadian bank will ever call you and ask you to cut up your cards. No Canadian bank will ever send a courier to your home to collect them. Those procedures do not exist.
If you receive a call like this, hang up. Call your bank directly using the number on the back of your card. If you are genuinely worried your account has been compromised, walk into a branch in person.
One more thing: a real fraud department will never ask for your PIN. Not under any circumstances, not for any reason. The moment someone on the phone asks for it, the call is a scam no matter what your caller ID says.
If you or someone you know has been targeted by a similar scam, report it to Calgary Police at 403-266-1234.
Sources
Calgary Police Service news release, May 22, 2026 — newsroom.calgary.ca
