As real-life interactions move online, digital fraud attempts are steadily on the rise and getting more sophisticated. Canadians are increasingly transacting online and exchanging sensitive information as part of their daily lives \u2014 and scammers are taking advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether through emails, social posts, gaming apps or online marketplaces, or simply when chatting with friends and family on multiple platforms \u2014 we are all more susceptible to unknowingly sharing financial and identity information with a fraudster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An Interac cyber security survey<\/a> found eight in ten Canadians (86 per cent) are tired of relentless fraud attempts<\/a> \u2014which occur at least once a week for more than half of Canadians (53 per cent). The problem affects people of all ages, walks of life, and regions of the country, and is compounded by the increasing sophistication of fraud attempts. Nearly four in 10 Canadians (38 per cent) have encountered a scam where a fraudster used personal information to appear as a trusted source. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But while stress and fatigue make Canadian consumers more vulnerable to fraud,<\/a> they are also becoming more empowered \u2014 acting as the first line of defence against hackers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you (and your loved ones) stay safe online, we\u2019ve compiled the most common digital scams to watch out for, along with critical tips to prevent them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this article you\u2019ll learn: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some consider digital fraud prevention and cyber security two sides of the same coin. Digital fraud prevention includes key strategies and best practices for identifying and avoiding online scams. Cyber security refers to the technologies and processes designed to protect networks, devices, programs, and data from unauthorized access and cyber-attacks. Together, digital fraud prevention and cyber security can help detect and stop scammers (and malware) from using your identity credentials to make a fraudulent transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consumers are the first line of defence against fraud and digital scams. Empowering Canadians with the tools and education they need to protect themselves is the critical first step in helping to spot, avoid, and report fraud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We advise adopting a \u201cStop, Scrutinize, Speak Up\u201d approach<\/a> to identify and avoid fraud attempts: <\/p>\n\n\n\n STOP<\/strong>: <\/strong>Canadians are inundated with emails, texts, chats, and phone calls, and constantly targeted across channels. When a message or request feels unusual, take a moment to stop, breathe, think, and follow your instincts. Do not feel pressured to respond to a request for personal information you were not expecting. Instead of quickly responding, make it a habit to stop and think first. <\/strong>If you have any<\/em> doubt about a request asking for personal information or a notification of a money transfer or refund you were not expecting, do not feel pressured to respond quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SCRUTINIZE<\/strong>: <\/strong>Assess the situation and look for the telltale signs of a scam. Use resources like the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre<\/a> to stay up to date on the latest scams and how to spot them. Take your time and think before responding to any kind of unexpected message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n SPEAK UP<\/strong>: <\/strong>Confirm the validity of the communication and report any concerns. If you suspect fraud, contact the sender of the communication through a completely different channel to verify its validity. If you have already provided sensitive information, contact your financial service provider immediately and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Email is a hotbed for digital fraud and money<\/a> scams<\/a>, with phishing attempts as the most common tactic. According to digital security firm RSA, a staggering 66 per cent of all<\/em> phishing attacks<\/a> are directed at Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hackers will often impersonate businesses, friends, and government officials to get you to share personal and financial information. Some typical ways scammers try to compromise email: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Be wary of emails from senders you do not recognize. Do not respond or click on any links unless you are certain the email is actually from a sender you trust. If you receive a deposit or money request notification you were not expecting, contact the sender through a different channel to check if it is real. Above all, trust your gut. If you suspect an email to be fraudulent, forward it right away to phishing@interac.ca<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fraudsters will go to great lengths to try to legitimize phishing attempts, using company logos. Look for errors or strange typos in the text of an email notification, like the \u201c$\u201d sign appearing after (instead of before) an amount. And never send passwords or sensitive personal financial information over email or text. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you receive a money transfer, read the message carefully. Fraudulent emails will often ask you to reply with a security answer. Consider setting up <\/em>Interac<\/em> e-Transfer Autodeposit<\/a>, so that transactions are automatically deposited into your bank account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Canadians increasingly send money online, here are a few tips to help prevent you from falling victim to online payment and money transfer scams:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to online marketplaces and other online sellers, take the same precautions you would with cash purchases. Check any security guidelines or policies outlined on the website to protect yourself. And consider using these tried-and-true best practices:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Always stay vigilant, because sending money via Interac<\/em> e-Transfer is like sending cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are three common money transfer scams to watch out for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Online Marketplace Scam<\/strong>: A fraudster lists something for sale on a popular online marketplace. This could be everyday goods or rare or hard-to-find items. The fraudulent seller asks for payment in advance and then never sends the item. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How to<\/strong> protect yourself? <\/strong>Don\u2019t send money to anyone you don\u2019t know. Look at seller reviews and ask to meet in person (in a public setting) before sending money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Rental Scam: <\/strong>Someone poses as a landlord and says they\u2019re not available or that they\u2019re an intermediary for an absent landlord. They ask for a deposit on an attractive-looking rental, often through a money transfer. The would-be tenant discovers there isn\u2019t<\/a> actually a rental \u2013 and the deposit is gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How to protect yourself?<\/strong> Avoid \u201clandlords\u201d who don\u2019t want to meet in person. Most importantly, never send money for a security deposit without confirming the legitimacy of the property in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Romance Scam: <\/strong>A fraudster poses as a romantic interest. The new love interest asks for money for travel or to deal with an emergency. Eventually they disappear, and never repay the money they borrowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to protect yourself? <\/strong>Be careful about sending money to anyone you\u2019ve only known for a short time, even if you\u2019ve become close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are only a few of the many (and increasingly sophisticated) payment scams out there. Interested in learning more? Read more here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Take a preventative, proactive approach against online fraud by practicing good digital hygiene. To help Canadians stay one step ahead of scammers, Interac designed a three-step digital health checkup<\/a>, based on tips from industry experts and the Canadian government. We recommend using this self-care checkup every three months <\/strong>to identify and fix your weaknesses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. DIAGNOSIS<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Discovering the problem is the first step toward fixing it. Kickstart your digital health with an evaluation: <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. REMEDY<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you identify any gaps, apply some quick fixes: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Use anti-virus software on all<\/em> your devices. Set up fingerprint or facial recognition and change your passcode regularly. Set your software and operating system to automatically install the latest security settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. PREVENTION<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lock down your devices and accounts to make your digital security even stronger: <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Canadians increasingly work in remote and hybrid ways, new cyber threats are also emerging. Employees and businesses need to stay vigilant<\/a> to help spot the warning signs and avoid phishing attempts and malicious links. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Above all, embrace security in your day-to-day online activities. From clicking on links to interacting with data, incorporate the Stop, Scrutinize, Speak Up approach. Stop and scrutinize anything that feels questionable before <\/em>you act. Pay careful attention to the source of all links before clicking on them. Fraudsters may impersonate your company\u2019s own leaders, a charity, or other type of organization trying to solicit funds (and sensitive information). Meanwhile, hackers will exploit legitimate-sounding sources of information as lures for malware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few tips for keeping yourself and your company safe: <\/p>\n\n\n\n For business leaders, now is the time to protect and prepare customers and employees as they navigate an accelerated digital economy and increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts. This means adopting a people-centred approach<\/a> to empower and support customers and employees as the first line of defence against cyber security attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Businesses should take a two-pronged approach: <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Focus on education to prevent the risk of attacks from happening in the first place. This means arming customers and employees before they go online and guiding their behaviour to protect against cyber security threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Recognize and accept the reality that people can and will make mistakes. From an operational and reputational standpoint, prepare for human error so that when mistakes happen, they have minimal impact on your consumers and business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To help reduce the potential for threats and arm your people and customers against security risks, here are a few key tips: <\/p>\n\n\n\n At Interac, we arm Canadians with the information they need to spot, avoid, and report fraud. We also work closely with law enforcement agencies and our own security partners to share a proactive approach for foiling digital scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are connected to nearly 300 financial institutions, and over 280 government services using our verification and digital sign-in tools. This uniquely enables us to detect and prevent fraud patterns and empower Canadians to participate safely in an increasingly digital world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Interac is one of Canada’s most trusted brands<\/a>, thanks in large part to the security features built into our products and services.<\/a> We have a long history of helping Canadians stay secure when transacting online, through world-class privacy, fraud mitigation, and expertise in governance and verification solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At Interac, we enable Canadians to transact digitally with confidence \u2014 in service of greater convenience and control in a growing digital economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the ways<\/a> we work to protect you: <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As real-life interactions move online, digital fraud attempts are steadily on the rise and getting more sophisticated. Canadians are increasingly transacting online and exchanging sensitive information as part of their daily lives \u2014 and scammers are taking advantage. Whether through emails, social posts, gaming apps or online marketplaces, or simply when chatting with friends and family on multiple…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":100696,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"content-tags":[945,279,272,788],"content-category":[192],"spokespeople":[],"in_the_know_post_format":[],"class_list":["post-100695","content","type-content","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","content-tags-fraud-security","content-tags-interac-debit","content-tags-interac-e-transfer","content-tags-interac-verified","content-category-life"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
The Difference between Digital Fraud Prevention and Cyber Security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Recognize and Protect Yourself from Digital Scams and Identity Theft<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Spot Email Fraud and Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to Send Money Safely and Prevent Online Payment Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to Be Proactive with Healthy Digital Hygiene and Checkups <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to Avoid Phishing Attempts and Malicious Links When Working Remotely<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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organization\u2019s network. Avoid using open and public Wi-Fi networks.
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<\/li>\n\n\n\nHow <\/strong>Business Leaders Can Take a People-Centred Approach to Cyber Security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/li>\n\n\n\nWhat Interac is Doing to Prevent Digital Fraud <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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