A group of suspected scammers working out of Montreal who reach their victims by text message reportedly got a visit from the RCMP recently.
The Journal de Montréal says the raids took place in the Montreal area last June 28. They led to at least one arrest, though the man hasn't yet been charged with anything.
Police also seized USB keys and other computer equipment.
The phone scam targeted by the Mounties is becoming an all-too-common one — the criminals would send text messages which appear to come from your bank, suggesting your account had been blocked for security reasons, and that to have it unblocked, you must click a link and provide your password.
The acting intake unit manager with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Jessica Gunson, says that text-message scams like the ones used by this network are getting more and more sophisticated.
"Generally, the rule of thumb — if you receive an email and you don't know where it's from, it's to delete it," she says.
Gunson says it's important to come forward if you were scammed.
"You're not alone. You should not feel ashamed or embarrassed. Sometimes I think consumers think there's not much that law enforcement can do, but if it's not reported, we don't know there's a problem."
-CJAD 800's Matt Guité contributed to this report.