Avoiding Internet and Social Media Fraud

Internet and social media scams are on the rise in Canada, and since it’s Fraud Prevention Month, it’s a perfect time to familiarize yourself with what to watch for. Scammers are using social media sites to defraud Canadians of their money and personal information, now more than ever.

Posting too much personal information in your social networking profile could result in identity theft, financial fraud and monetary losses. You should consider whatever you post as being accessible to the entire world. If you would not put it on a public bulletin board, then do not post it online. Even if you delete your profile, it can still remain on the Internet. [Financial Consumer Agency of Canada]

A common social media scam these days are accounts setup on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to solely sell fraudulent products. Some common tips for avoiding Internet and social media scams are:

• Never follow links in emails that request your personal information. For example: PayPal would never email you to confirm your personal information.
• Never click on links on Twitter that look odd, for example: “You look hilarious in this video …” those are common on social media and will allow the person to takeover your account.
• Never give out personal information or banking information on sites that you don’t know to be secure.
• If you have to post your date of birth, do not include your year of birth.
• Use different passwords for different applications like social networking sites, email and online banking. Change your passwords often.
• Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know.
• Be aware of a site’s privacy settings and policies when you are creating a profile or setting up an account. Check whether the site is allowed to sell your information to other companies.

At the end of the day, if it doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t. Links are your worst enemy, so never click on anything you’re unsure of. There should always be a way to confirm a source or website.

If you feel you’ve fallen victim to a scam, it’s important that you report it. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre estimates that 95% of frauds go unreported, but without this information, authorities can’t do anything about stopping or preventing these scams.

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