Bank investigator scam: they come to your door for your card
It is a scam. Your bank will never send someone to collect your card, never ask you to dial a code, and never tell you to buy gold.
A call appears to come from your bank’s fraud team. The caller knows your name and address, says there are fraud charges on your card, and then the script branches: someone will come by for your card, or you must dial a code, or your savings need converting to gold. Every branch ends the same way.
How it works
The call appears to come from your bank, sometimes with the real bank number showing on call display. The caller already knows your name, address and phone number, and claims there are fraud charges on your card. To "protect your account" they say an investigator will come by to pick up your card, or they ask for your PIN over the phone. Nearly 100 people across the GTA fell for this in 2025, including 41 reported in Durham Region. One reported opener is a text asking whether you attempted a payment, followed within minutes by a call that appears to come from the bank.
The call-forwarding version
In a variant RBC warned about in July 2026, the caller says your account is compromised and asks you to dial an "extension" or "activation code", such as *21, followed by a phone number. That sequence switches on call forwarding on your phone. From then on the scammer receives your calls and the one-time codes your bank sends, so they can get into your accounts while you sit by a phone that never rings. Never dial a code someone gives you over the phone.
The gold version
In October 2026 the RCMP warned of a version where the "fraud department" directs you to buy gold from a real online dealer in Canada and then meets you in person, producing fake police badges, to take it. CBC reported a Guelph case in January 2026 in which a woman in her 70s handed over gold bars near her home on three occasions and lost about $800,000. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recorded about $28.6 million lost to bank investigator fraud in the first six months of 2026 alone, against $37.4 million for all of 2025.
What a real bank fraud alert looks like
TD’s fraud alert texts show the last four digits of your card and the transaction, including the amount, the type and the merchant name, and ask only for a Y or N reply. TD says it will never ask you to reply with any personal information or click on any links. RBC says it will never ask you to click links in unsolicited emails or texts to enter banking credentials.
A real alert never leads to a caller offering to collect your card, asking you to dial anything, or telling you to move your money anywhere, let alone into gold.
Source: TD Fraud Alerts
Does my bank text me about fraud?
Yes, some banks do. A real alert names the last four digits of your card and the transaction, and asks only for a Y or N reply. It never includes a link to tap, never asks for a code, and never leads to someone offering to collect your card or move your money.
What to do
- Hang up. Your bank will never send anyone to collect your card and will never ask for your PIN.
- Never dial a code or number someone gives you over the phone. If you already did, ask your carrier to check whether call forwarding has been switched on.
- Call your bank yourself using the number printed on the back of your card.
- If you handed over a card, call your bank immediately to cancel it, then report to Durham Regional Police at 905-579-1520.
- If you tapped the link, entered details or paid: here is exactly what to do next, step by step.
- If this one also reached you by text, forward that text to 7726 (SPAM). How to do that on iPhone and Android.
- Got a different message? Run it through our one-minute checker.
Sources
If this has already happened to you, our scam recovery visit can lock down your accounts and devices. And if you are just not sure whether something is a scam, asking us is always free.