For Fraud Prevention Month the TD Newsroom is sharing tips and information to help identify the most common fraud scams affecting Canadians. Follow along to help you recognize and report financial fraud.
Falling victim to financial fraud can leave you feeling angry, confused, and helpless.
A new TD survey reveals that roughly one in three Canadians have been personally victimized by financial fraud, underscoring why it’s so important to educate and protect yourself from potential fraudsters.
READ: Romance scams: 5 things you might not know
As frauds become more sophisticated, it’s more important than ever for Canadians to recognize their role in identifying and preventing fraud. To help, we’ve put together a few tips designed to assist in keeping you and your family and friends safe.
Pay attention to your fraud alerts
Many banks use text messages to communicate with their customers. By signing up for services such as TD Fraud Alerts, you'll receive text messages that will alert you if suspicious activity is detected on your personal banking account. It’s an easy and free way to help avoid falling victim to financial fraud.
Have conversations with family and friends
Seniors are becoming more frequent targets of scams, according the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Help protect your family members by talking about common scams that often target elderly Canadians, for example, the Romance Scam.
Protect your PIN
Part of your responsibility as a credit and debit cardholder is protecting your PIN. No one - not even your bank - should know your PIN. It’s important to make sure you don’t ever give it out, whether in person, over the phone, online or by mail.
Check your sources
Emails from relatives overseas asking for significant funds because they're in trouble or an unexpected and too-good-to-be-true cheque or payment may seem innocent, but chances are - these are examples of fraud. If you don't know the sender and the message doesn't feel right, do your research to verify if these messages are real. And always remember the old adage, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Keep tabs on your statements, online accounts or banking apps
Regularly checking your account transactions is an easy way to identify any potentially fraudulent transactions. Money management apps, such as the TD MySpend app, can also help you in the fight against fraud with real-time notifications of spend transactions, making it easy to spot suspicious charges.