There have been several frauds and scams that have been presented on various platforms daily and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) continue to promote awareness to reduce the incidents of community members being victimized by fraud and scams.
A total of 90,377 fraud reports were received by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) in 2022, with losses reported totalling over $530 million as a result of fraud.
As of February 2010, over 19,400 victims belonged to the identity theft and fraud category. Over 19,400 victims were victims of identity theft and fraud, while over 4,251 victims found themselves victims of investment fraud.
Phishing: Recognizing the Signs
To steal your passwords, account details, or Social Security numbers, scammers use emails or text messages to intercept your information. It is possible that if they gain access to this information, they will be able to access your email, your bank, and other accounts. The scammers may also sell your information to other scammers to steal more money from you. The phishing attacks we see here are launched every day by scammers, and many of them succeed - which is why they are so common.
Here are some common tactics used by scammers in emails or text messages that are phishing email and text messages and are often updated to keep up with the latest news or trends:
Emails and texts that are phishing sell you a story to get you to click on a link. You can also open an attachment or click on one of their links. You can receive an unexpected email or text message from a company or source that appears to be a well-known or trusted company. Banks, credit card companies, utility companies, or other organizations can serve as reference points.
What You Can do to Protect Yourself?
- To protect your accounts, it is imperative to create strong passwords.
- The most effective way to ensure that someone cannot access your account without your permission is to set up multi-factor authentication.
- If you have any social network accounts linked to yours, make sure that your privacy settings are updated.
- If you plan to use one of the payment methods, you should familiarize yourself with their terms of service and how they work. Ensure that you have a policy that protects you from fraud.
- You should not accept money from a third party, nor should you send any money to them. A criminal offense is money laundering, and being involved in money laundering is a felony.
- It is imperative not to react automatically when something happens. You may want to spend five minutes asking more questions and listening to your instincts before making a decision.
- It is imperative to ask someone you trust if you feel something is amiss or does not seem right.
- You should stay up-to-date with the latest frauds and share what you know with others to help protect them. It is possible to cover the entire population of Canada with a chain of 25 people telling two people.
- If you have an issue with your call display, do not rely on it because it can be easily manipulated by someone else.
- If you are requested to provide information about personal or financial matters, please do not do so.
- An email or text message that you receive from an unknown sender may have an attachment or a link that you should not open.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre makes it easy to report incidents involving cybercrime and fraud, as well as file them online through their online reporting system or by calling them at 1-888-495-8501 if you suspect you have been the victim of either. Even though you have suffered fraud or cybercrime if you wish to report such crimes to the CAFC you must. This is regardless of whether you are a victim or not.
