Scammers, fraudsters and phones, oh my!

It may seem like the oldest trick in the book, but phone scams continue to be on the rise as fraudsters use new tactics and get increasingly creative. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reports that as of March 31, 2024, there were 41,988 victims of fraud with over 569 million dollars in losses last year alone.

Phone scams on the rise

A lesser known scam that’s increasing in frequency is the delayed disconnect. Fraudsters target individuals with a home phone and call posing as the credit card fraud department. They don't ask for personal information, but ask the person to hang up and contact the number on the back of their credit card to discuss further.

Naturally, individuals contact their financial provider immediately. What they don't realize is that the initial call hasn't fully disconnected. The fraudster is still on the line, playing a pre-recorded dial tone. When the victim dials the number, they do not connect with their legitimate credit card company - instead they are unknowingly connected to another person involved in the scam. If the scam goes as planned, victims end up sharing their credit card number, CVC or other private information. If you receive a call on your home phone asking you to contact your financial institution, it’s recommended you wait at least a minute (or more) before calling back or, to be extra cautious, you can use a cell phone to contact your bank.

When it comes to phone scams, you should also be aware of call forwarding scams. Never dial * 21 * followed by a 10 digit number if prompted by an unverified caller. Regardless of what they may tell you, this will forward incoming calls made to your mobile phone to fraudsters - including calls from your bank and other service providers. As you may have experienced, many banks have security measures in place that involve calling their clients to confirm suspicious transactions or address other security issues. Once these calls are unknowingly forwarded to fraudsters, the fraudsters take advantage of the situation, jumping at the chance to steal your identity and potentially make unauthorized changes (or in some cases, they may even create new accounts if they have enough of your personal information).

Other common phone scams include:

• Emergency scams: a person receives a call from a scammer, who claims to be someone they know, such as a grandchild, and asks for money immediately to help them deal with a pressing situation
• Social Insurance Number (SIN) scams: a person is advised that their SIN is linked to a fraudulent account or criminal activity and asked to confirm their SIN or other personal information, resulting in identity theft.
• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or Service Canada scams: a person is advised that they have outstanding taxes owed. This CRA article explains how you can ensure a caller claiming to be from the CRA is legitimate and not a scammer.
• Phone scams targeting the Asian community: a person receives an urgent message from the Beijing Police, INTERPOL or Chinese consulate demanding payment, or a call that asks for personal information in order to complete delivery of a package sent to you.

Many of these scams prey on our sense of urgency, and are threatening in nature, indicating that you’ll be arrested, fined or even deported if you do not speak to the caller immediately or action their requests. The scammers may pressure you into verifying personal information or sending copies of your ID or passport, or demand payment via money order, pre‐paid credit cards, gift cards and even Bitcoin.

On the flip side, be wary of any phone calls where you are offered deep discounts or something that seems too good to be true. You can ask the caller for a reference number and call the company back to confirm the validity. Refrain from using the phone number provided; instead, verify it on your bill or the company's official website.

Preventing unwanted calls

Many phone scams use “call spoofing” to mislead victims and trick you into answering your phone. This refers to the process of changing the Caller ID information that is displayed when a call is made - either to disguise the number they're calling from and/or to display a number you’re used to getting calls from. The number may look like a business, a contact or very similar to your own number. Technology that enables call spoofing is readily available; do not assume that phone numbers appearing on your call display are accurate.

To avoid “call spoofing” and help prevent unwanted robo-calls, take advantage of the call control features offered by your home phone or mobile device carrier. You can typically find information about such features by doing a Google search. If you are a TELUS subscriber you can learn more here: Call control for mobile devices explained, and Home phone Call control explained.

Top tips from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) to protect yourself:

• If a call does not seem right, hang up
• No legitimate institution will threaten you over the telephone
• Never provide personal information over the phone to an unknown caller
• If you provide personal information or suspect you’ve been a victim of a scam, contact Equifax and TransUnion to place fraud alerts on your accounts. Additionally, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or report it online at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre offers more information about other common scams and fraudulent activities and provides additional tips to help you protect yourself on their website.

To help avoid becoming the victim of a scam and further protect your privacy and identity in our digital world, take advantage of a cyber security solution like TELUS Online Security, powered by NortonLifeLock™, to receive dark web notifications of potential threats, on demand credit reports, as well as identity theft reimbursement coverage (terms and conditions apply).

Visit telus.com/WiseOnlineSecurity to learn more.