Where to report a scam call or text in Canada, and in what order

A routing guide: which body takes which kind of call or text, how to file a National Do Not Call List complaint that can be used, what to keep as evidence, and which complaints each province’s consumer office will not take.

Editor: Andrew Pickett · Last reviewed 2026-10-24 · Editorial guidelines. Written for readers in Canada.

There is no single place to report a bad call or text in Canada. Which body takes your report depends on what the caller did, and sending it to the wrong one is the usual reason nothing happens. This guide sorts it by situation, then explains how to file the most common complaint, a National Do Not Call List report, in a way the CRTC can use. A report made on this site helps other visitors but does not reach any authority, so use the routes below as well.

Start here: what happened?

If money has moved, the order is different: your financial institution first, then the police, then the CAFC. See reporting fraud to the CAFC.

Filing a National Do Not Call List complaint that can be used

The DNCL operator collects complaints and passes them to the CRTC for a preliminary assessment. The CRTC explainsthat because of the volume it cannot follow up with every complainant and contacts you only if it needs a statement to support a violation. A good complaint is therefore one that stands on its own. The online form asks for the number the call reached, the telemarketer’s name or number and the date; the CRTC also asks for the exact time as it appeared on your display.

You can file online or by phone at 1-866-580-3625, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The CRTC covers breaches of the DNCL, telemarketing and automated-dialing rules, and says it also looks at international and spoofed calls. It states that the maximum penalty is $1,500 per violation for an individual and $15,000 for a corporation, and that a violation continuing over more than one day counts as a separate violation for each day.

For context, Canadians filed 26,105 complaints with the DNCL operator in 2024–25, and 86 per cent were about calls received while the number was already registered. Ontario filed 10,205, Quebec 6,807, British Columbia 3,790 and Alberta 2,712.

What the DNCL does not cover

• Fraud. The CRTC says registration does not necessarily stop fraudulent calls, and sends suspected fraud to the police and the CAFC. See telemarketing rules and the DNCL.
• Exempt callers. Registered charities, political parties and candidates, survey and polling firms, newspapers selling subscriptions, businesses with an existing relationship (a purchase or contract in the last 18 months, or an enquiry in the last six) and anyone you gave express consent. Filling in a contest form can count as consent. Ask an exempt caller to put you on its own do-not-call list and note the date: it must act within 14 days.
• Business lines, which the DNCL does not accept for registration.
• Debt collection, which is not telemarketing. Contact your provincial consumer office.

On timing, none of the DNCL or CRTC consumer pages we read states a deadline for complaints. An archived 2007 CRTC decision set a 14-day window for filing, so file as soon as you can after the call.

Keep an evidence log

The Competition Bureau’s advice is to write down the number the person used, keep screenshots, receipts and saved emails, and keep a list of every call you make to the police along with any file number. A simple log keeps all of that in one place:

• date and exact time of each call or text, and the number it reached;
• the number on your display, and any callback number the caller gave;
• the name of the person and the organization they claimed;
• what they asked for, and what you said or did;
• reference and file numbers from every body you contact, with the date and the name of the person you spoke to.

Provincial consumer offices: what they take and what they send away

• Ontario. Consumer Protection Ontario (1-800-889-9768) covers a phone sale over $50 under the Consumer Protection Act. It refers fraud and identity theft elsewhere.
• British Columbia. Consumer Protection BC handles telemarketers, but lists fraud and scams as something it cannot help with. Call 1-888-564-9963, press 1 and leave a voicemail.
• Alberta. The Consumer Investigations Unit (1-877-427-4088) takes complaints such as door-to-door sales and collection agencies, and says scam texts and calls are outside its jurisdiction.
• Quebec. The Office de la protection du consommateur (1 888 672-2556) sets out when you can cancel a purchase made by telephone. Those rights apply when the merchant did not respect certain obligations, for example by not sending you a copy of the contract within 15 days of the purchase.

None of these takes the place of the police for fraud. Each also asks you to take the problem to the business first.

Identity theft and credit

If your identity details were exposed, the CAFC advises flagging your accounts, changing passwords and reporting to both credit bureaus. A fraud alert at one does not apply at the other: Equifax says it applies only to your Equifax file. Use each bureau’s own page for its number, such as Equifax at 1-800-465-7166 and TransUnion at 1-800-663-9980. For a stolen SIN, Employment and Social Development Canada says to file a police report with the officer’s name and number, notify the CAFC and contact both bureaus. You do not need to report SIN fraud to the SIN program, and a new SIN is not recommended.

Reporting to the police

There is no single national non-emergency number, so use your local police service’s line. In Alberta, the RCMP lists 310-RCMP. Call 911 when someone is in danger or a crime is in progress. In Quebec, the Sûreté du Québec says every fraud should be reported to your local police service, and that social media is not an official channel for a complaint. Ask for a file number whenever you report.

To see which numbers visitors have reported on this site recently, see the Canada spam call barometer.

This page summarises published guidance, checked on 24 October 2026. Phone numbers, hours and deadlines change, so confirm them on each body’s page. It is not legal advice.