Phone and Email Scams
Phone and Email Scams
Phone and Email scams are the most common means of collecting critical data such as passwords, account numbers, social insurance numbers etc. Phone scams work by placing calls, many times targeting seniors or those most vulnerable members of society, and pretending to represent a bank or other commonly used company. These people are very clever and many times succeed in talking the victim into revealing the information that they are after such as passwords, account numbers etc. In some cases, these victims have handed over their life savings. It all depends on the sort of scam it is as there are many. Don't give out any personal information over the phone, instead, call the company in question directly and ask them if they called you for any reason. If it's your bank then you can make arrangements to visit them in person at your branch or call their legitimate toll free number where you will already have established security questioning in place. Be cautious if it's a company that you have never heard of, don't ever call them back at a number provided by the caller. Perhaps do a little research about the company first before attempting to call them back at their listed number. Any legitimate company will understand your hesitation so don't fall victim to their pressure tactics.
Phishing or brand spoofing is the Internet version of scamming consumers. Phishing is the e-term used to fish suckers out of their credit card numbers, bank account information, social insurance numbers, and passwords by sending fraudulent emails pretending to be from legitimate sites. The emails generally ask for specific information and provide you with an URL (Uniform Resource Locator) back to fraudulent sites. These sites may appear real, as great thought has been put into making them appear that way. The site name may be slightly altered to fool you or it may appear to be exactly right. It is quite easy to show a link with the real companies domain name but with a hidden IP address which takes your browser elsewhere. Most, if not all legitimate companies will not send you an email asking for personal information. As e-commerce grows on the Internet, the need to do all transactions electronically will eventually demand that all information must be submitted electronically in order to be productive. When this happens there will be a need for very stringent and sophisticated technology to secure these transactions. In the meantime, do not provide any sensitive data without being in a secure environment. Always check security certificates to see who holds them and make sure you see "https://" in your browser window. If you suspect that you have been a victim or intended victim of either phone or Internet scams, visit phone busters @ Phone Busters or call 1-888-495-8501. Phone busters provide a very useful list of things to look for if you suspect that you may be a victim. You always have the option to contact your local authorities as well. In Canada, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police offer a resource page on scams as well as instructions about how to report them. If you would like to report any phishing attempts or would like any further information, you can contact The Anti-Phishing Working Group.
The last piece of advice we have is that if an offer seems too good to be true, listen to your inner voice if it tells you not to walk but to run as fast as you can.
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