Government impersonation, phishing are top financial scams 2023.11.28……【Press】【Canada】TORONTO – Government impersonation is one of the most common financial scams plaguing people across Canada, a new survey from payment processing company Interac Corp. has found.
The report, released Tuesday, said 42 per cent of survey respondents reported dealing with scammers pretending to be representatives of official government institutions.
That was followed by 41 per cent for phishing scams and 33 per cent with fake banking, credit card and online account scams.
Rachel Jolicoeur, director of cyber market intelligence and financial crimes at Interac, said people have to remember the criminals carrying out scams are professionals acting opportunistically.
➤【加拿大】Interac 调查发现，冒充政府、网络钓鱼是最主要的金融诈骗
多伦多 – 支付处理公司 Interac Corp. 的一项新调查发现，冒充政府是困扰加拿大各地民众的最常见金融诈骗之一。
周二（28日）发布的报告称，42% 的受访者表示曾与冒充官方政府机构代表的诈骗者打过交道。
其次是网络钓鱼诈骗，占 41%，虚假银行、信用卡和在线账户诈骗占 33%。
Interac 网络市场情报和金融犯罪总监 Rachel Jolicoeur 表示，人们必须记住，实施诈骗的犯罪分子都是投机取巧的专业人士。
“总是有一种号召性用语和紧迫感，”她谈到诈骗者的运作方式时说道。
“一旦你有这种感觉，就停下来仔细观察。”
Jolicoeur表示，人们在接到自称是政府特工、财务顾问的电话或有关国际包裹的电话时需要保持谨慎。
她还指出，点击错误的在线链接可能会将您带到网络钓鱼网站。
Interac 调查收集了 9 月 28 日至 10 月 6 日期间 1,202 名受访者的在线反馈，结果显示，53% 的受访者认为，成为金融诈骗目标在加拿大很常见。十分之四的人表示他们担心自己可能成为受害者。
过去几个月，联邦政府就不断发生的诈骗事件向加拿大人发出了多次警告。
加拿大税务局有一个专门针对近十几种欺诈类型的页面，例如气候行动短信诈骗、信用诈骗、访问 CRA 账户的短信诈骗以及要求付款的勒索电话。
“CRA 不会使用攻击性语言或通过电话要求立即付款，”该机构针对敲诈电话表示。
它还列出了通过电话、信件、电子邮件、短信和在线退款表格进行欺诈通信的示例。
Jolicoeur表示，如果有人确实成为受害者，人们不应该惊慌。如果金钱丢失，他们可以联系财务顾问和信用局，并考虑向警方报告。
阿塞尔·埃尔-巴巴 (Aseel El-Baba) 是提供金融知识项目的“正念与金钱”组织的联合创始人，他表示，人们花点时间反思自己的经历以了解问题所在也很重要。
“原谅你自己，”她说。“很多时候，我们对自己非常挑剔，很容易陷入自责之中。”
巴巴回忆起她母亲遭遇诈骗的情景。
“在接下来的几周里，这对她来说是一次情感上的艰难经历，”巴巴回忆道。“她因为落入骗局而对自己很严厉。”

Government impersonation, phishing are top financial scams, Interac survey finds

The Canadian Press
Updated Nov. 29, 2023 1:23 a.m. CST
Published Nov. 28, 2023 9:13 p.m. CST

TORONTO – Government impersonation is one of the most common financial scams plaguing people across Canada, a new survey from payment processing company Interac Corp. has found.
The report, released Tuesday, said 42 per cent of survey respondents reported dealing with scammers pretending to be representatives of official government institutions.

That was followed by 41 per cent for phishing scams and 33 per cent with fake banking, credit card and online account scams.

Rachel Jolicoeur, director of cyber market intelligence and financial crimes at Interac, said people have to remember the criminals carrying out scams are professionals acting opportunistically.

“There’s always a call to action and a sense of urgency,” she said of how scammers operate.

“As soon as you get that feeling, just stop and pause on that to scrutinize.”

Jolicoeur said people need to be cautious when receiving calls from people claiming to be government agents, financial advisers or calling about international parcels.

She also noted that clicking on the wrong link online could take you to phishing websites.

The Interac survey, which collected responses from 1,202 people online between Sept. 28 and Oct. 6, suggests 53 per cent of respondents believe being targeted by financial scams is a common occurrence in Canada. Four in 10 reported they were concerned they could fall victim.

The federal government has issued several warnings to Canadians about the ongoing scams in the past months.

The Canadian Revenue Agency has a page dedicated to almost a dozen types of frauds such as climate action text scams, credit scams, text scams to access CRA accounts and extortion phone calls demanding payments.

“The CRA will not use aggressive language or demand immediate payment over the phone,” the agency said for extortion phone calls.

It also lists examples of fraudulent communications over the phone, letter, email, text and online refund forms.

If someone does fall victim, Jolicoeur said people should not panic. If money is lost, they can contact their financial adviser and credit bureau and consider reporting it to police.

She also suggested reaching out to friends, families and extended networks to spread awareness, adding that criminals could use a variation of scams — trying to access money, banking credentials, personal information and details they can’t get on their own.

“Nothing works better than sharing that story,” Jolicoeur said.

Aseel El-Baba, who is the co-founder of Mindfulness and Money, which offers financial literacy programs, said it is also important for people to take a moment and reflect on their experience to understand what went wrong.

“Forgive yourself,” she said. “A lot of times, we get very critical of ourselves and easily get sucked into self-blaming.”

El-Baba recalled when her mother fell victim to a scam.

“It was emotionally a hard experience for her for the following weeks,” El-Baba recalled. “She was hard on herself for falling for the scam.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2023.