Canada’s telecom regulator is warning Canadians on the Do Not Call List against crooks posing as … officials of the Do Not Call List.

In an ironic twist, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission says the illegal calls are coming from spoofers who claim they're representing the DNCL operator.

"The originators of these calls are falsely displaying (spoofing) the national DNCL toll-free number," the CRTC said in a statement this week.

"These individuals are making claims that the call recipient's telephone number is about to expire from the national DNCL and that the number must be re-registered over the phone."

The CRTC, which didn't disclose the number of times this has happened, doesn't do that.

"In 2014, the CRTC enhanced the privacy of Canadians by making registrations to the national DNCL permanent," the regulator said.

"This means there is no need to re-register telephone numbers. Numbers remain on the list, unless an individual specifically requests that it be removed."

Under the telecom rules, individuals face penalties of up to $1,500 for each violation, and companies up to $15,000.