The Fort St John RCMP want the public to be aware of phone scams that have been reported in the area.

Often the caller identifies themselves as police and, in some cases, claims to be a Service Canada agent working with the police. The caller will tell you that there are warrants for your arrest. Sometimes being specific in saying the warrants are a result of you having multiple bank accounts.

The caller will then tell you they will stay on the line and then directs you to buy "Google Play cards" or some other gift card. The fraudster will provide direction on how to send these cards to the caller and, in some cases, will tell you that when you send the pay cards, to turn yourself in to the police on the warrant.

The fraudsters are using Caller ID spoofing that disguises the telephone number appearing on the caller ID display. This allows scammers to disguise their calls and trick people into answering their phones and trusting the caller. There have been some reported instances where the number appears to be from the RCMP.

The RCMP and all Government agencies, including Service Canada, will never call asking for, or demanding money for any reason.

If you should receive a call such as this, hang up the phone and call the police back yourself using publically-accessible contact details.

For more tips and information regarding current scams and how to protect yourself visit The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website