The federal government has announced that there will be a grocery rebate available to Canadians. This is to help off set the high cost of groceries. Through the good that is being done, there are some who will try and take advantage of this and take your money.
Scammers are sending Phishing texts saying that you have received your Grocery Rebate and that you need to follow the link in order to get your refund. This is a scam, the CRA will not send an unsolicited text. This scam is a variation of many other Phishing scams out there.
So what can you do to protect yourself from phishing scams like this one? The CSE and Canadian Cyber Centre are advising Canadians to:
- Be aware of and guard against possible phishing attacks, as any data accessed may be used to make phishing attempts more credible.
- Protect how you connect and assess the risks associated with using social media platforms and apps.
- Monitor your personal online and banking accounts for any unauthorized charges, transactions, or sign-ins.
- Use multi-factor authentication on your personal and banking accounts.
- Update your passwords. Use complex passwords that are unique to every account and device and consider using passphrases, which are longer yet easier to remember.
- Check there is locked padlock to the left of the URL. This padlock symbol can help protect your personal information.
- Avoid clicking on suspicious links or responding to suspicious texts.
- Call your bank. If your bank account or credit cards are involved, you’ll want to report it, and cancel cards, right away to avoid being liable for the losses.
- Call Canada’s main credit reporting agencies and put a fraud alert on your credit report:
- Trans Union Canada 1-866-525-0262, Québec 1-877-713-3393
- Equifax Canada 1-866-779-6440
Follow the link below to see the news release and for more information.
