Every day, Canadians across the country are targeted by scam artists. With tax season in progress, scammers may try contacting you, pretending to be your financial service provider or even the CRA.
How to protect yourself from scams
Cyber security is essential in protecting personal and financial information from fraud and scams. Below are key steps to protect your wealth and stay safe:
- Use strong, unique passwords. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) where applicable.
- Be cautious with links and attachments
- Never click an unverified link or download an unknown attachment
- Check for spelling and grammar errors: Phishing emails often have minor mistakes.
- Verify emails and web addresses
- Look for small differences in URLS
- Check the senders email address
- Confirm who’s contacting you
- Confirm full phone number – don’t trust caller ID alone
- Verify identity by contacting your financial services provider directly using their official contact information
AI makes fraud even harder to identify
As advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have made scams more sophisticated, the risk of fraud has increased, and additional steps must be taken to recognize scams. The following are examples of AI-generated scams:
- Voice cloning: Scammers can mimic the voices of loved ones over the phone claiming they need financial help.
- Deepfake videos and images: Scammers can create realistic videos or images to impersonate family members or coworkers.
You can protect yourself from these AI generated scams by implementing these additional tips: - Create a safe word or phrase that only close family members know which can be used to verify emergencies
- Be skeptical of urgent requests
- Verify unexpected calls or messages by calling a contact back using a known number to confirm
How to identify CRA scams
It is important to know when to be suspicious and how to recognize a scam. The CRA website outlines how you can protect yourself against fraud. The CRA may contact you by phone, automated message, letter, or email. The CRA will NOT:
- Send you refunds by e-transfer or text message
- Demand or pressure immediate payments by e-transfer, Cryptocurrency, prepaid credit cards, gift cards
- Threaten to deport or arrest you
- Use aggressive or threatening language
- Set-up an in person meeting in a public location to collect a payment
- Charge a fee to speak with a call centre agent
- Ask for personal or financial information in a voicemail or email
If you are unsure or suspicious:
- Do not click any buttons, links, or reply to the message
- Do not provide any personal or financial information
- Hang up and contact the CRA directly for any tax-related manners.
There is no need to stress or worry about scams, however it is important to stay vigilant, recognize the signs and know how to respond if you are ever contacted by a potential scammer.
For further details contact a Rothenberg Wealth Management advisor.
Information in this article was taken from the Canada Revenue Agency’s website: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/scams-fraud/recognize-scam.html
