It’s not enough that we’re constantly plagued by duct cleaning telemarketers, phone scams and fraud artists presenting themselves as agents of Canada Revenue Agency or our bank, we also have to endure the endless number of criminals trying to steal our on-line personal information. It’s a virtual shark tank.
In the past week alone I’ve received two potential threats to my on-line personal security (not including the theft of my wallet). The first email was someone claiming to be from Apple wanting to verify that I’d ordered from iTunes and asking for further information by clicking on their linked website. Upon checking independently with Apple it was confirmed that the email was fraudulent and I forwarded the offending information on to their phishing people. Today I received another one. This time from Amazon with whom I do a fair bit of business. I’d recently updated my information with the real Amazon and somehow the bad guys detected that and asked me to again provide them with my credit card information. I became suspicious and contacted Amazon who confirmed it was fraudulent and I forwarded them the site information.
We all know people who’ve been tricked, including many of our friends who are experienced in the business world. There are so many people out there who lack the knowledge to recognize these scams and it’s scary to think of the level of success these people are achieving. Every piece of communication we receive must now be carefully scrutinized and it’s worth taking the time to contact the institutions you do business with whenever you are contacted. It’s hard to keep up but always be suspicious and vigilant.
P.S. No sooner had I finished writing this when I read an essay in this morning’s Globe & Mail about a woman who succumbed to ordering a scam face cream on-line (click here to read it) after her partner of twenty-three years dumped her. She’ll likely be billed ’til the end of time. The injustices never end.
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Also beware of bills to renew magazine subscriptions you have never ordered either for yourself or as gifts to others.
…sorry we couldn’t get together this week for lunch, Lynda…maybe next time we are in Toronto. Paul says hello.