How to Avoid Scams in Canada !
If you received an email telling you that someone has filed a complaint against you or your business with the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services.
Phishing scam is an attempt to deceive you ( usually by email ) into giving you sensitive information to someone posing as an individual or company that you know such as (bank account, password)
Report a fraud/scam
You should contact:
If you've been scammed
If you think you may be a victim of a fraud or scam, there are some key steps you should take immediately to reduce your risk of losing more money, protect your personal information and avoid being scammed again.
You can consider taking legal action against those involved in the fraud or scam. If you don’t have a lawyer, you may contact the Law Society Referral Service. They provide up to one half hour of free legal consultation.
You should:
Other scams include:
To learn more about these scams you can visit the Consumer Protection Ontario page where they give you the descriptions of all these types of scam.
- Do not open it or click on any of the links. (It could be phishing scam)
- Call the Consumer Protection Ontario at 1-800-899-9768 to check whether or not the complaint is actually filed
- Call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre at 1-888-495-8501 to report the fraudulent email
Phishing scam is an attempt to deceive you ( usually by email ) into giving you sensitive information to someone posing as an individual or company that you know such as (bank account, password)
Report a fraud/scam
You should contact:
- local police — file a report about the fraud or scam, and make sure you get a report number for future references
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre — provides valuable assistance to law enforcement agencies by identifying connections among seemingly unrelated cases
- regulatory bodies — when it involves a member of a regulated profession such as a doctor, lawyer or mortgage broker (regulatory bodies may have the ability to take disciplinary action, such as revoking a person or company’s licensed or ordering them to stop providing services to the public)
If you've been scammed
If you think you may be a victim of a fraud or scam, there are some key steps you should take immediately to reduce your risk of losing more money, protect your personal information and avoid being scammed again.
You can consider taking legal action against those involved in the fraud or scam. If you don’t have a lawyer, you may contact the Law Society Referral Service. They provide up to one half hour of free legal consultation.
You should:
- stop all communication with the fraudster / scammer
- avoid making any major financial decisions until you feel you’ve taken action to secure your accounts
- gather all records you have of the fraud or scam, such as:
- correspondence with the scammer such as letters, emails, and text messages
- financial statements
- receipts
- contact information the scammer used to contact you (e.g., phone numbers, email addresses)
- websites and social media accounts used for the scam
- any papers, marketing material or ads used for the scam
- notify financial institutions and other companies where you have an account that may have been affected
- change passwords to accounts that may have been affected, including social media sites
- document your actions if you contact law enforcement, financial institutions and other agencies (e.g., notifying your bank, changing your banking passwords), starting from when you first noticed the fraud in a log (include dates, times, names and contact information)
- protect your devices if you used your computer, laptop or tablet to communicate with a scammer:
- take your device to a professional to have it checked it
- ensure security software on your device is up to date
- install anti-spyware protection
- scan your hard drive and files
- put an alert on your credit report by contacting Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada
Other scams include:
- Grandparent scam
- Emergency scam
- Romance scam
- Charity scam
- Gift-card scam
- Employment scam
- Get rich-quick scam
- Consultant fee scam
To learn more about these scams you can visit the Consumer Protection Ontario page where they give you the descriptions of all these types of scam.
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