Many of us spend hours a day online – at work, at home and on the go. Unfortunately, so do Internet scammers who may be phishing for your personal information. In the spirit of March’s Fraud Prevention Month and helping consumers recognize, prevent and report fraudulent activities, today’s blog post focuses on what you might need to know about phishing scams.

Phishing or brand spoofing is when scammers create web pages or email messages from what appears to be well-known and trusted businesses like a bank or credit card company. The goal of these fraudsters is to trick you into submitting sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, bank account information, social insurance numbers and passwords that will be used to commit fraud.

By simply clicking on one of these phishing emails and supplying your personal information, you could become a victim of this prevalent fraud. Do not reply to any email that requests your personal information – even if it looks like your bank is asking for a payment because they claim your credit card bill is overdue.

For more information about Fraud Prevention Month, visit Competition Bureau. If you feel that you may have been a victim of fraud, please report it to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre.

ADDITIONAL READING:

Cell phone scams: what do you need to look for?
Avoiding rental property scams
A scam warning from Canada Revenue Agency