5 Scams Canadians Can’t Afford to Ignore in 2014

Even if you haven’t been personally called by The Captain yet, you’ve probably heard of his shenanigans already. This telemarketing scam has been going on since 2011 and continues to frustrate those on the receiving end. Unfortunately, it’s not the only scam testing Canadians’ patience (and grabbing at their wallets). New scams are cropping up all the time, and changing to reflect our modern world. That’s why it’s important to stay informed – check out our list below to acquaint yourself with 5 common Canadian scams from the past year.           

 

Whether it’s The Captain or Amy or John on the other end, the one thing these robo-voiced callers have in common is that they’re trying to scam you out of your money. If somebody’s called to let you know that you’ve won a free cruise – usually to the Bahamas – be wary, it's probably a telemarketing scam.

 

Even if you stay on the line through the entire all, and answer those “public opinion poll” questions, you’ll never be united with your promised cruise tickets. Online comments from other robo-call recipients suggest that a well-timed technical difficulty will arise to disconnect you before you can claim your prize.

 

 

 

Keep in mind that legitimate lotteries don’t require you to pay a fee or tax before you can collect your winnings. Plus, you should never send money, or provide personal banking details to someone you don’t know and trust.

 

Investigate the terms and conditions of the offer carefully – an offer that’s too good to be true usually is. There are often hidden costs lingering in the fine print. Even phone calls to premium rate numbers or replies to premium rate text messages can leave you with hefty unwanted charges on your bill.

 

Remember – you can’t win a contest that you never signed up for!

 

 

The Captain’s call is not the only serendipitous offer that’s come my way lately. Another promise of big bucks came to me through snail-mail the other day. A mysterious lawyer wrote to inform me that a long lost relative from England had apparently passed away, leaving me with millions.

 

Although the illegitimacy of this letter was glaringly obvious – it was riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes – sometimes, scammers tell such convincing stories that unsuspecting victims are tricked into providing bank account details and personal documents, in order to claim their “inheritance”.

 

However convincing the scammer’s story, this inheritance is totally non-existent. Victims may even lose money by paying the mysterious lawyer his various “fees and taxes.” What’s worse, they could have their identity stolen and their bank account sapped.

 

 

If you receive any kind of request to transfer money – whether it’s through snail-mail or e-mail – it’s probably a scam. Furthermore, legitimate estates will never solicit a trustee or heir in this kind of manner.

 

Never give out your credit card or banking details, or send money, to someone you don’t know and trust.

 

Trust your gut – if the offer seems like a scam, it probably is!

 

 

This February, an e-mail went out across the country with the subject line “YOUR 2013 TAX REFUND IS READY!” It claimed to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, boasting a legitimate-looking logo and the CRA’s real website URL.

 

“Follow the link below to login to our secure Epass site with your Social Insurance Number,” said the e-mail, and you’ll get hundreds of dollars in tax returns.

 

As it turns out, that was a phishing scam, and not even the official-looking logo or the “©Copyright Canada Revenue Agency” in the corner should be enough to convince you to give away your personal information.

 

Phishing scams are often sent under the pretence of coming from a trusted business, bank, or even the government.  Fraudsters have taken to using legitimate-looking logos, addresses, and other convincing elements to make them look like the real thing. That’s why it’s harder to spot a phishing e-mail scam from a legitimate e-mail – they’re no longer riddled with glaringly obvious errors and spelling mistakes.

 

Even government employees are vulnerable to such an attack – believe it or not, last month 2,000 staff members of the Justice Department fell prey to a mock e-mail scam sent out as a test by the department. About 156 million phishing e-mails are sent out every day, and those that end up clicking the embedded links risk exposing their precious personal information to criminals.

 

 

There are a few dead giveaways when it comes to phishing emails that make it easy to spot a scam for what it is. Look for misspelled words, grammar mistakes, or logos that don’t look quite right if you receive an email that you suspect is a scam.

 

Remember – the CRA will never request your personal information through email, and it will never request your passport, health card, or driver’s licence information. Don’t reply to any e-mail that requests your personal information.

 

A legitimate bank or financial institution will never send your account details through email, and will never ask you to click on an email link. If you receive a phishing email from the CRA or any other legitimate institution, contact them immediately and report the incident.

 

 

Medieval scam artists used to pawn off fake relics to unsuspecting customers. These days, scammers have taken to social media to pawn off their own fake products in the form of non-existent brand-name “prizes” and “giveaways”.

 

Fraudsters use social media apps like Instagram to target young users, who are eager to “like” and share posts and photos. A scammer can easily trick an unsuspecting victim into clicking on a showcased prize that looks as if it’s linked to a famous brand or retailer. In reality, this link will take them to an online quiz or other website that will attempt to get their credit card information.

 

 

If you’re browsing through a Twitter or Instagram account boasting constant giveaways and not much else, you’re probably looking at a scam account.

 

If you click on a picture and it takes you to an online form, never share personal information including your e-mail address or password.

 

Another red flag is the use of the words “free” or “giveaway” in a Twitter or Instagram profile name  – this is usually a telltale sign that the account you’re browsing is most likely a scammer’s. 

 

 

Celebrity gossip is a kind of worldwide guilty pleasure. Some love it, some hate it, but almost everyone has to deal with hearing about it or seeing it on their Facebook news feed. Most of the time, celeb fodder is harmless and entertaining. But lately fraudsters have been riding the coat tails of famous celebrities to catch Internet users in their scams.

 

These scam artists will use social media to post fake celebrity gossip stories or sensationalist news in order to get unsuspecting users to click on the scam link or share the bogus story. When a user clicks on the post, they’ll usually get redirected to an online survey that will fatten the scammer’s wallet. Sometimes, clicking on a scam video might even install malware on their computer.

 

 

No matter how big of a fan you are, or how closely you like to follow your favourite celebrities, if a social media post is peddling a scandalous celeb story, just don’t click on it – it’s likely bogus, and that shocking title is there to get you to click on it.

 

Whatever you do, don’t share the post! This spreads the hoax and helps to put money in the scammer’s wallet.

 

As always, don’t believe everything the Internet says. You can’t trust a lot of “news” that shows up online, so check the legitimacy of a story by visiting a trusted news source.

 

If you’d like to report a fraud, visit the the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website, send an e-mail to [email protected] or call the toll-free number at 1-888-495-8501.