A B.C. woman is warning wireless customers across Canada after a well-coordinated delivery scam left her without her new phone and stuck with hundreds of dollars in charges, according to a report by Global News.
Shamim Rahimi ordered a new device and added a line through her official Rogers app earlier this year. A real Rogers rep called her the same day to confirm the order. But the next day, a scammer called claiming to be from the company, telling her the colour she picked was temporarily out of stock and her shipment would be delayed.
The unsettling part is that the scammer somehow had her exact delivery details and knew the precise moment the phone landed at her door.
“He knew even before me that the phone arrived at my place,” Rahimi said.
The caller seemed to know her contract and account details inside out, and convinced Rahimi to send the new phone back so she could merge her lines for a special loyalty deal. She was emailed a prepaid UPS shipping label and mailed the device off, thinking it was headed back to Rogers. Instead, it went to a private address in Mississauga, Ontario.
Once Rahimi figured out what had happened it was too late, but she still called both the police and Rogers. Her fraud claim was denied by the company. Rogers said that once a device is delivered, whatever happens with it afterward is the customer’s responsibility. The company also said it found no evidence of a security breach on her account, and noted it includes warning flyers inside its shipping boxes to alert customers about return scams.
If you get an unexpected call about your account or a change to your shipment, hang up and call the official customer service number printed on your monthly bill to verify before doing anything. This is another reason to never answer the phone or reply to unknown text messages.
In 2024 alone, Canadians fell victim from scams that totalled $643 million, according to the federal government. Ottawa touted new anti-fraud strategies in its Budget 2025, but besides the tough talk, new laws and policies have still failed to protect Canadians from phishing calls and texts.
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