Residents Being Warned of New Email Scam in Mississauga
Published November 28, 2018 at 5:48 pm
You may have read a recent story about how people were warned that their accounts with certain bank accounts were blocked–whether they had accounts with that particular bank or not.
If someone were to click on the links in that “warning”, they would fall victim to what is known as a “phishing” scam.
And now, police are warning residents about another one that’s making its rounds in Mississauga and surrounding cities.
People — especially people who are not terribly familiar with internet culture — fall for these fairly frequently. These scams are particularly insidious because they often appear to be from legitimate companies and organizations.
But scams proliferate all the time, this newer one is a bit more enticing as the drawing point is about money allegedly being given to you.
Sgt. Matt Bertram from Peel Regional Police recently tweeted out this picture of an email he received, purporting to be from Bell.
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“Never open any suspicious attachments or directed links. When in doubt call the company,” Bertram said.
That’s sound advice.
To avoid an internet or phishing scam, delete any and all emails that seem like junk or spam (replying to “unsubscribe” only confirms that your email address is real).
Also, residents should note that legitimate banks and financial institutions will never ask for sensitive information via email.
Also, if an offer seems too good to be true (and getting hundreds of dollars for no apparent reason definitely falls under that category), it probably is.
If you have received an email like this from a sender who appears to be from a legitimate organization (such as Rogers or Bell), report it to the company and the Canadian anti-fraud centre.