How to protect yourself against phishing

How to protect yourself against phishing

 
Because of COVID-19, it is normal to feel fearful and anxious. Cybercriminals can take advantage of our concern about the spread of the virus to make fraudulent calls, emails and texts.

At Desjardins, we provide you with measures to better protect you against phishing attempts. Here are some of our tips in collaboration with our fraud prevention department.

Find out more about our fraud prevention service - External link. This link will open in a new window.

Email or text communications

Be careful! 84% of Canadians receive fraudulent emails and nearly 10% of them fall into the trap [Note 1]. These communications use, in 71% of cases [Note 2], the name, logo and colors of financial institutions to lead you to reveal personal information or to click on links and attachments that lead to the installation of malware on your computer or mobile device. Avoid getting caught by paying close attention to the content of the message. Scammers will bet on 3 things in their message to trick you into disclosing personal information: urgency, profit and problem.

How do I know this is a scam?

Emergency
The fraudster relies on a sense of urgency to trick you into making a quick and thoughtless gesture while also mentioning the consequences if the action is not taken quickly.
Example :
A request to update your personal information, otherwise your account will expire or be frozen.
Profit
The fraudster may lead you to believe that you made a profit or obtained some advantage in order to obtain personal information.
Example :
Sending a link claiming an unexpected win of unknown provenance.
Problem
The scammer may trick you into believing that there is a problem that requires you to disclose confidential information in order to be able to remedy the situation.
Example :
An accounting error has been made in your account and has been corrected. The email includes a hyperlink to connect you to your online transactions site.
How can I prevent email or text phishing?

Check if the sender's email address seems known and legitimate to you, especially after the at sign (@): is it a business or personal address?
Move your cursor over the hyperlink (without clicking on it) to verify that the link address is legitimate and matches the sender's company (beware of similar addresses).
Assess the relevance and reasonableness of the email or text. Ask yourself questions: did I really enter a contest? Am I waiting for a package? Is this a usual procedure? Is it "too good to be true"?
Never provide confidential information to authenticate yourself by email or text (for example: social insurance number, credit card number, date of birth, password, etc.).
Phone calls

The ill-intentioned person on the phone can pretend, among other things, to be an employee of your financial institution, the government, a police force, a non-profit organization, or even a loved one. Its ultimate goal is to collect confidential information or receive money. Here are our tips for differentiating a legitimate call from a scam.

How do I know that the call is from a Desjardins advisor?

We will never ask you to provide personal and confidential information, such as your Social Insurance Number (SIN).
We will never ask you to give your codes, information or passwords to authenticate yourself.
To authenticate you, we may ask you to provide a one-time code received by push notification or text message, or to answer security questions.
Learn more about enhancing the security of your account - External link. This link will open in a new window.

How can I prevent a fraudulent call?

If the person claims to be a relative, ask the other person a few personal questions that only those close to you can answer: name of a relative, city of birth, unique family memory, etc.
When the person claims to be a professional, write down their name and call them back on the official company number (not the one the person gave you).
Never give out confidential information on an incoming call.
Verify the information even if the other party has requested to keep your conversation a secret.
Never make a money transfer immediately after a request.