Eight women in north-central Alberta have received "misleading" calls from someone who claims to be from a medical imaging centre, asking them to perform breast self-exams while they remain on the phone, Alberta Health Services is warning.

The women, who were in the Edmonton, Barrhead and Athabasca areas, were told the caller was doing follow-ups on breast screening exams, AHS said.

"Although AHS representatives may call to discuss a mammography appointment, they will never ask a patient to conduct a breast self-exam over the phone," AHS said Tuesday in a news release.

Women who get such calls should hang up, note the time and any other call details, and immediately contact local police on their non-emergency line, AHS said.

Anyone uncomfortable with calling police, or uncertain about whether the call is legitimate, is asked to contact the AHS screening program client support line at 1-866-727-3926.

AHS said it has informed police and RCMP.