Scammers can target anyone, including families, and their loved ones. Here are some invaluable tips and tricks to safeguard yourself and your loved ones from scams and fraud. At Derby Manor, we care deeply about your safety and well-being. Let’s stay informed and protected together.

Don’t be afraid to say no

Don’t be intimidated by high-pressure sales tactics. If a telemarketer tries to get you to buy something or to send them money right away:

Request the information in writing
Hang up

Watch out for urgent pleas that play on your emotions.

Do your research

Always verify that the organization you’re dealing with is legitimate before you take any other action:

Verify Canadian charities with the Canada Revenue Agency
Verify collection agencies with the appropriate provincial agency
Look online for contact information for the company that supposedly called you, and call them to confirm
Verify any calls with your credit card company by calling the phone number on the back of your credit card

If you’ve received a call or other contact from a family member in trouble, talk to other family members to confirm the situation.

Watch out for fake or deceptive ads, or spoofed emails. Always verify the company and its services are real before you contact them.

Don’t give out personal information

Beware of unsolicited calls where the caller asks you for personal information, such as:

Your name
Your address
Your birthdate
Your Social Insurance Number (SIN)
Your credit card or banking information

If you didn’t initiate the call, you don’t know who you’re talking to.

Know how to protect your Social Insurance Number (SIN).

Know what to expect if the real Canada Revenue Agency contacts you.

Beware of upfront fees

Many scams request you to pay fees in advance of receiving goods, services, or a prize. It’s illegal for a company to ask you to pay a fee upfront before they’ll give you a loan.

There are no prize fees or taxes in Canada. If you won it, it’s free.

Protect your computer

Watch out for urgent-looking messages that pop up while you’re browsing online. Don’t click on them or call the number they provide.

No legitimate company will call and claim your computer is infected with a virus.

Some websites, such as music, game, movie, and adult sites, may try to install viruses or malware without your knowledge. Watch out for emails with spelling and formatting errors, and be wary of clicking on any attachments or links. They may contain viruses or spyware.

Make sure you have anti-virus software installed and keep your operating system up to date.

Never give anyone remote access to your computer. If you are having problems with your system, bring it to a local technician.

Be careful who you share images with

Carefully consider who you’re sharing explicit videos and photographs with. Don’t perform any explicit acts online.

Disable your webcam or any other camera connected to the internet when you aren’t using it. Hackers can get remote access and record you.

Protect your online accounts

By taking the following steps, you can better protect your online accounts from fraud and data breaches:

Create a strong password by:
- Using a minimum of 8 characters including upper and lower case letters, and at least 1 number and a symbol
- Creating unique passwords for every online account including social networks, emails, financial and other accounts
- Using a combination of passphrases that are easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess
Enable multi-factor authentication
Only log into your accounts from trusted sources
Don’t reveal personal information over social media

Learn more about securing your accounts by visiting Get Cyber Safe.

Recognize spoofing

Spoofing is used by fraudsters to mislead victims and convince them that they are communicating with legitimate people, companies, or organizations. Here are the main types of spoofing used by fraudsters:

Caller ID spoofing

Fraudsters have the ability to manipulate the phone number appearing on call display either by call or text message. Fraudsters can display legitimate phone numbers for law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, government agencies or service providers.

Email spoofing

Similar to Caller ID spoofing, fraudsters can manipulate the sender’s email address in order to make you believe that the email you’re receiving is from a legitimate source.

Website spoofing

Fraudsters will create fraudulent websites that look legitimate. The fake websites can pretend to be a financial institution, company offering employment, investment company or government agency. In many cases, fraudsters will use a similar domain/website URL to the legitimate company or organization with a minor spelling difference.

Protect yourself from spoofing by

Never assuming that phone numbers appearing on your call display are accurate
Hang up and make the outgoing call when someone claims to be contacting you from your financial institution, service provider, law enforcement or government agency
Call the company or agency in question directly, if you receive a text message or email. Make sure you research their contact information and don’t use the information provided in the first message
Never clicking on links received via text message or email
When visiting a website, always verify the URL and domain to make sure you are on the official website

What to do if you’re a victim of fraud

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Collect your thoughts

Stay calm. Gather all information about the fraud, including:

documents
receipts
copies of emails and/or text messages

Contact your financial institutions

Report the incident to the financial institution that transferred the money.

If you’re a victim of identity fraud:

place flags on all of your accounts
change all of your passwords
report the fraud to both credit bureaus (Equifax and TransUnion)

Contact the police

Report the incident to your local police and get a file number for future reference. If you find suspicious activity on your credit report, update your file with the police.

Report the incident

Contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre toll free at 1-888-495-8501 or through the Fraud Reporting System.

Depending on the type of fraud, or how it occurred, you’ll also want to report it to other organizations.

Fraud that took place online through a website

Report the incident directly to the administrators of the website. You can do so through a link such as “Report Abuse” or “Report an Ad”.

Redirected mail

If you suspect that someone had your mail re-directed, contact Canada Post.

You should also notify your service provider (telephone, cell phone, electricity, water, gas, etc.) of the identity fraud.

Lost, stolen, or misused immigration documents

Please contact Citizenship and Immigration Canada if:

your immigration documents have been lost or stolen
you suspect someone is fraudulently using them

Lost or stolen passport

If your passport is lost or stolen, report the incident to Passport Canada and to your local police.

If you are outside of Canada, you must report the loss or theft to the nearest Canadian government office abroad.

Stolen Social Insurance Number

Learn what to do if you suspect someone is using your Social Insurance Number (SIN).

Lost or stolen provincial or territorial identity documents

These documents include:

your birth certificate
your driver’s license
your health card
other documents issued by a province or territory

Please contact the province or territory that issued the document if:

the document has been lost or stolen
you believe someone is fraudulently using this information

You can find contact information on provincial and territorial government websites.

Protect yourself from future fraud

Scammers often target victims of fraud a second or third time with the promise of recovering money. Always do your due diligence and never send recovery money. Share any updates with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, your financial institutions and police. Tell family, friends, neighbours and co-workers about your experience. You may prevent someone else from becoming a victim.

Emergency-grandparent scam

Fraudsters are targeting seniors by calling and pretending to be a family member in distress, the police or a justice official claiming that a loved one or grandchild is in trouble, and needs money immediately. Victims are told there’s a gag order and can’t speak to anyone.

Protect yourself

Fraudsters…

Call demanding immediate payment for bail, or fines to avoid going to jail.
Remember! The courts won’t ask for cash to bail out someone in custody, and will require people to be present in court
Claim to be a lawyer, police or family member in an emergency situation demanding funds. Be suspicious of calls that require immediate action. Hang up! Call your local police and contact the family member directly
Request cash and send couriers for pick up, or demand the victim send cash by courier services or via cryptocurrency. Never send cash, cryptocurrencies or any other funds to unknown persons, unverified addresses or bank accounts

If you believe you have been scammed, contact your local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre:

1-888-495-8501 / antifraudcentre.ca

Fraud. Recognize. Reject. Report.

Protect Yourself from Scams & Fraud