Here’s how scammers may have gotten ahold of your full name in Mississauga and Brampton

If you’ve recently received a text scam (or multiple text scams) addressing you by your full name, you’re not the only one.

Multiple Mississauga and Brampton residents have recently reported getting a text that includes their full name, with some saying they’ve been receiving such messages repeatedly since last year.

One example is a scam message claiming that the recipient has been transferred money that they were owed, prompting the recipient to follow a link (recipient’s name blacked out):

There are a number of ways scammers can get their hands on your personal info, including data breaches, leaks, or having it sold by a less than scrupulous website/business that you willingly gave your information to.

In this case, the leak may be related to a massive Facebook leak in April 2021 in which 533 million Facebook users’ phone numbers and personal data were posted on a hacking forum.

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That means if you’ve been getting similar text scams with your name included since around April of last year, the Facebook leak is the most likely culprit.

As with all scam texts, residents are advised to delete the message and block the number, and avoid clicking the link as it may be used by scammers to get ahold of your personal and/or financial information.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which keeps track of major scams and fraud throughout the country, advises residents to never share personal information with unverified people or groups.

That includes information such as your name, address, birth date, social insurance number, and credit card or banking information.