Phone scams are when someone calls and pretends to be someone you can trust so they can steal your personal information or money. Scammers are always refining their tactics to fool even the most cautious individuals. Below are some examples of the most common phone scams, along with tips to help you spot them.
Two common phone scams:
Impersonation scams
Money transfer scheme
In this type of scam, someone calls you claiming to work somewhere like your financial institution, the police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. They tell you that you’ve been the victim of fraud and your bank account has been compromised. You need to act fast!
The fake representative then instructs you to transfer money to yourself as a way to secure your funds. They may even ask you to increase your daily transfer limit to protect more funds. They explain the procedure and guide you through each step of the transfer.
Once the transfer is made, they ask you to send them the confirmation details or the last few digits of the transfer URL. They claim that it’s to make sure the transfer worked. But it’s a trick! With this information, the scammer can redirect the funds to their own account.
Good to know
This scheme also has several variations.
In some cases, rather than asking you to transfer funds to yourself, the scammer will claim to have opened a secure account to move the funds to. They give you an account number and tell you to add them as a new beneficiary. They then have you transfer funds to that account.
Or, during the call, they may ask you to press certain keys on your phone. These number combinations (like *, 2, 1 plus another digit) are actually used to redirect your phone line. Once your line has been redirected, your calls will go to the scammer, who can then attempt to impersonate you at your financial institution.
Desjardins’s phone practices
We might contact you about our products and services, but we follow standard practices to ensure your security.
If you receive a call from Desjardins
We will never ask you to provide:
- Personal or confidential information (like your date of birth, card number, PIN or social insurance number)
- Security questions and answers for your Desjardins accounts
- Usernames, passcodes, information or passwords to authenticate you
- A single-use security code you might have been sent during the call
- This applies to legitimate emails and text messages too.
If you call us
If you’re the one making the call, the Desjardins advisor might ask you to confirm your identity by:
- Provide a one-time passcode they sent by a push notification1 in the Desjardins mobile app or by text
- Answering security questions
Mailbox scam
The fake representative claims that there has been fraud on your card, then asks for your credit or debit card number and your PIN (personal identification number), saying they need this information to lock your card and prevent any more fraudulent transactions.
Then they instruct you to leave your card in your mailbox so someone can come pick it up—claiming it’s for your convenience. You follow their instructions and see that the person coming to get your card is wearing a police or courier service uniform, or perhaps clothing with your financial institution’s logo on it. They may even ask you to cut up your card before handing it over to win your trust.
The scammer now has your card and PIN and can use them to make transactions, like withdrawing cash.
Good to know
Sometimes, the fake representative may offer to send a car for you or to take you to your ATM so you can withdraw your money and give it to them, saying that they’ll keep it safe.
Think twice!
- When in doubt, get the name of the person calling you and end the conversation.
- Call back at an official number to confirm the situation. For example, you could call your financial institution at the phone number on the back of your debit or credit card.
- Never share your confidential information with anyone. That includes your PIN, confirmation codes and security answers. You should be the only one who knows this information.
- If you think your card has been stolen, you can lock it in just a few clicks or call us at 1-800-224-7737 to let us know.
Fraudsters sometimes use a method called “spoofing” to change the information that appears on a phone’s call display. That may lead you to believe that the phone number is legitimate and can be trusted. Be on the alert if the call is unusual or unexpected, and don’t rely on the call display information. Don’t hesitate to hang up if you have any doubts.
Tech support scam
Another scheme used to defraud people of their personal information is the tech support scam. Someone calls you claiming to be an IT technician working for a well-known company like Microsoft or a secure platform like AccèsD.
The fake technician tells you they have to update a program on your computer. You allow it, thinking it’s required, but in fact they use the opportunity to install software that captures your user ID and password the next time you log in to Desjardins’s mobile or online services.
Sometimes the scammer will even ask for your bank account access codes. With that information, they can access your personal information and steal your money.
Think twice!
- Keep in mind that no company will ever contact you directly to help you fix a problem on your computer or update your software.
- Never give a stranger remote access to your computer.
- Never follow instructions from someone you don’t know to resolve a “problem” you didn’t ask for help with.
- Never share your personal information (debit or credit card numbers, passwords, PINs and so on) with anyone.
- If you think your computer has been hacked, contact your financial institution right away and have your device checked by a reputable service provider.