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The Newfoundland and Labrador government is warning of multiple scams circulating leading up to the holidays. 

Since Dec. 4, the province has put out two public advisories warning the public of scammers trying to obtain personal information.

The first scam involves a text message appearing to be from MyGovNL and instructs the recipient to click a link to a fake website where they will be prompted to provide personal information. 

Mike Goosney, the minister responsible for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, said the government would never ask someone for information by clicking on a link. 

“It can grab the information from your personal data [and] oftentimes it’ll link into your financial accounts or to get passwords,” he told CBC Radio’s Newfoundland Morning.

“And then it’s basically an open book for hackers to be able [to] do the harm, which is a lot of times financial.”

He says the text can appear legitimate and once scammers receive personal information, it can allow them to access financial accounts. 

“It’s just so disheartening to think that someone could work all their life and with the click of a button, someone could take it away from them,” Goosney said. 

The province says if someone receives a scam text message, they should forward it to 7726 to alert their cellular provider. 

They should then delete the message, block the number and report it to local law enforcement and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501. 

The second scam the province is warning of is a telephone call claiming to be on the behalf of Premier Tony Wakeham, asking for personal information in exchange for a senior’s bonus.

Goosney says the scammers are looking to prey on seniors’ vulnerability

“It is very much alarming if you don’t feel it’s something or if you do feel it’s something that’s too good to be true, to delete right away. And you know, let authorities know.”

If anyone receives such a phone call, the province is asking them to immediately hang up without providing any information, and then report it to the RNC or RCMP. 

Reports to the RNC can be made online or by calling 709-729-8000, and reports to the RCMP can be made by contacting the local detachment or calling 1-800-709-7267.

Goosney says the government is working to track these scams, and that they are working on providing more education about scams to the public. 

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‘Subdued atmosphere’

Northern Canada has been gripped by an intense and prolonged cold spell, with temperatures hovering between -20C and -40C for weeks. On Tuesday, Braeburn in the Yukon recorded -55.7C, its coldest December temperature since 1975.

Meanwhile, Mayo and Dawson endured 16 consecutive nights below -40C, with Mayo plunging to -50.4C on Monday. Whitehorse also recorded 10 nights when temperatures dropped below -30C.

The deep freeze spread farther south over the festive period. On Christmas Day, overnight temperatures in Edmonton fell below -28C, while Boxing Day was expected to bring lows of at least -20C across many regions, including Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec.

The severe cold is forecast to persist into the new year. Officials have warned that the Yukon could face electricity outages in the coming days, as the territory’s power grid comes under strain from record-high energy demand.

The prolonged chill has been caused by the polar vortex remaining anchored over Canada for much of December, allowing bitter Arctic air to spill south. Next week, the cold air mass is expected to retreat north gradually, enabling milder Pacific air to move across the US and into parts of southern Canada.

In stark contrast, parts of the US experienced their warmest Christmas Day on record as temperatures soared about 15-30C above the seasonal average. In many areas, conditions felt more typical of April or May than late December.

Several states set Christmas Day temperature records. In Oklahoma, Oklahoma City hit 25C on Tuesday, surpassing the previous peak of 22C set in 1982. Cities including Austin and Dallas, in Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina, were also among those that recorded temperatures above 25C.

Above-average warmth is expected to continue through Boxing Day and the days ahead, with unseasonable heat forecast to sweep into the south-eastern states later in the week.

The warmth has been fuelled by a strong upper-level ridge extending from the desert south-west towards the north and east, creating a heat-dome effect. This pattern establishes a broad area of high pressure across much of the continent, trapping warm air near the surface. As air sinks through the atmosphere, it compresses and heats further, allowing unusually warm temperatures to build.