'Be very cautious.' That is the message the police want to get out to the public when releasing any personal information. 

"Scams continue to increase," explains Police Chief, Paul Ladouceur. "Two of the most popular ways people are scamming people nowadays are either through the internet or through the telephone." 

"Be really cautious if you're going to release banking information over the phone," he adds. "We always say there's nothing wrong with telling a caller to hold off and that you want to check, whether that be through contacting the local police or calling the institution back yourself to verify that it is a correct call."

"One of the big scams we also see is where it will be someone posing as the Canada Revenue Agency reporting that you owe back taxes. They want you to go out and get prepaid cards, whether that be prepaid visa or iTunes cards and to provide that information for payment right away or there might be fear of arrest or yourself getting in trouble legally. I can tell you that no government institution requests prepayment cards or iTunes cards as a method of payment

He reminds people that most financial institutions won't ask for personal banking information over the telephone.

He adds that scams over the internet are also on the rise.

"A lot of fraudsters will use phishing scams.They may make a website to look or appear like an institution or a bank or a financial institution saying there's problems with your account and we need to verify your information. Just be really cautious if you're giving out your information. You want to make sure it's a legitimate business."