Scam type
Impersonation Scams
Impersonation fraud works by borrowing the authority of an organisation you already trust. A caller claims to be from your bank's fraud team, the police, the tax office, a well-known software company, or even your own employer's finance department, and uses that authority to steer you into transferring money, sharing security details, or installing remote-access software.
One rule cuts through almost every variation: real institutions never ask you to move money to a 'safe account', and they never ask you to keep a payment secret from your own bank. If you have already acted on such a request, contact your bank immediately, report to the police, and preserve every record. ChargeBack can then help you organise the evidence and understand which dispute or complaint channels may apply.
The pattern
How this scam typically works
The contact
You receive a call, text, or email that appears genuine — the caller ID may show your bank's real number, the email may copy official branding, or the caller may already know personal details obtained from data leaks or earlier phishing.
The manufactured emergency
You are told your account is under attack, a warrant has been issued, your computer is infected, or an invoice must be paid today. The scenario is designed to make you act before you can verify.
The instruction
The impersonator directs the 'fix': transfer your balance to a 'safe account', read out a one-time code, pay a fine in gift cards or crypto, install a remote-access tool such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer, or approve an urgent supplier payment.
The disappearance
Once money is transferred or access is granted, funds are moved on quickly through further accounts. Some victims are called again days later by the same group posing as investigators 'helping' with the first fraud.
Warning signs
- Any request to move money to a 'safe', 'secure', or 'holding' account
- Pressure to act immediately, stay on the line, or keep the call secret
- Requests to read out one-time codes, PINs, or passwords
- Instructions to install remote-access or screen-sharing software
- Payment demanded in gift cards, vouchers, or crypto for fines or fees
- An executive or supplier emailing new bank details with unusual urgency
What to do right now
- Hang up or stop replying, then contact the organisation yourself using a number from its official website or the back of your card — never a number the caller gave you.
- If you transferred money or shared card details, call your bank or card issuer straight away, explain what happened, and ask what recall or protection options apply.
- If you installed remote-access software, disconnect the device from the internet, uninstall the program, run a security scan, and change your passwords from a different device.
- Report the incident to your local police or national fraud-reporting service and keep the reference number.
- Preserve everything: call logs, texts, emails, screenshots, payment confirmations, and the names, numbers, and account details the impersonator used.
Evidence worth collecting
- Bank and card statements showing each payment or transfer
- Call logs with the dates, times, and numbers used to contact you
- Texts, emails, and letters, including headers and sender addresses
- Screenshots of any fake websites, warning pop-ups, or portals shown to you
- The names, job titles, badge or reference numbers the impersonator gave
- Records of any remote-access software installed and when it was used
- Police or fraud-reporting reference numbers you already have
How ChargeBack can help
- Reconstruct a clear timeline of the contact, the instructions given, and each payment
- Organise your call records, messages, and statements into a coherent case file
- Analyse where your payments went, including on-chain tracing when crypto was involved
- Identify which dispute, recall, or complaint channels may apply to each payment method
- Prepare a written summary you can give to your bank, the police, or a lawyer
We assess and document; banks, payment providers, and authorities decide outcomes. No recovery can be guaranteed by anyone.
Possible channels
Dispute and reporting channels that may apply
Which channels are realistic depends on how you paid, where the money went, and how quickly the incident was reported.
Bank transfer recall and scam-reimbursement schemes
For transfers you were tricked into authorising, your bank can attempt a recall, and in some countries reimbursement schemes for authorised push-payment fraud may apply. Early, accurate reporting matters.
Card chargeback
If a card payment was involved, your issuer may be able to raise a dispute under card-scheme rules. Time limits apply, so contact your issuer promptly.
Police and fraud-reporting services
Impersonating police, banks, or officials is a criminal offence in most countries. A police report creates the official record that banks, insurers, and later complaints usually depend on.
Financial ombudsman or regulator complaint
If you believe your bank mishandled the fraud warning signs or your recall request, a formal complaint to the bank — and, if unresolved, to the ombudsman — may be open to you.
In Canada
Where to report and complain in Canada
The official routes for someone who lives in Canada. Report quickly, and keep the file numbers you are given — every one of these bodies works from the evidence you hold.
Your local police
Report the fraud to your local police service — or to the RCMP where it polices your area — and ask for a file or occurrence number. Banks and exchanges often ask for it, and it belongs at the front of your evidence.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
Report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre as well, online or by telephone on 1-888-495-8501. The CAFC asks for reports even from people who have already gone to the police, and from witnesses as well as victims, because it is how patterns across Canada are found.
Your bank or card issuer — straight away
Use the number on the back of your card or on your bank's own website, never one given to you by the person or site involved. Ask the bank to stop further payments and to try to recall or dispute the money, and make a formal complaint. Note the date you complained: it starts the clock for the next step.
If your bank says no: OBSI
The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments is the free, independent complaints body that every federally regulated bank in Canada must belong to. You can take your complaint to OBSI once 56 days have passed since you first complained to the bank, or sooner if the bank has already given you its final response. Once you have that final response in writing, you have 180 calendar days. Credit unions and caisses populaires are regulated by their province and have their own routes — ask yours which applies.
Interac e-Transfers and wire transfers
A payment you sent yourself is harder to dispute than a card payment, so speed matters most here. Ask your bank at once to contact the receiving bank and try to hold or recall the money. An Interac e-Transfer that has not yet been deposited may still be cancelled — ask your bank immediately.
If your identity was used
Ask Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada to place a fraud alert on your credit file, and check your credit reports for accounts or applications you do not recognise.
General information from each body's published guidance, not advice on Canadian law. Confirm deadlines with the body concerned.
FAQ
Common questions
Start here
Start with a free, confidential consultation.
Tell us what happened. We will review the information and explain whether our services are relevant — and, if you choose to proceed, exactly what any investigation would involve and cost.