Protecting Yourself from ID Theft and Money Scams

Highlights

• Criminals employ imposter scams, investment frauds, phishing, job scams, romance cons, and online shopping deceptions, often preying on trust, urgency, or hopes to steal money and personal information.

• Many scams aim to trick you into revealing sensitive personal and financial details that can be used for fraudulent activities.

• Safeguard yourself by verifying unsolicited requests, resisting pressure, staying informed about current scam trends, and knowing what steps to take if you become a victim.

Scammers and online thieves are constantly evolving, becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect. How do these criminals operate, and what can you do to safeguard your hard-earned money, credit standing and personal information?

What Are The Most Common Identity Theft and Money Scams?

Scammers are cunning, preying on trust, urgency, and sometimes, even our hopes. Here are some of the most common schemes to watch out for:

1. Imposter Scams: These are consistently among the most reported scams. Criminals impersonate trusted entities like government agencies, banks, tech support, or even friends and family. They create a sense of urgency or fear, often demanding immediate action or payment to resolve a fabricated issue.

• Example: A call claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, threatening arrest if you don't immediately pay back taxes via gift cards.

• Identity Theft Angle: They might ask for personal information to verify your identity, which they then use for other fraudulent activities.

Please remember you will never receive an unsolicited phone call from Equifax asking for personal identity or financial information. Contact us directly if anyone contacts claiming to be from Equifax when you weren’t expecting it, you asking for your information. 

2. Investment Scams: These are particularly devastating due to the potentially high financial losses involved. Scammers promise unrealistic, guaranteed returns on investments, often in speculative areas like cryptocurrency. They create fake platforms, show fabricated profits, and encourage victims to invest more and more before disappearing with the money.

• Example: A new friend on social media or a dating app steers you towards an exclusive investment opportunity with high returns.

• Identity Theft Angle: You might be asked to provide significant personal and financial details to set up your investment account.

3. Phishing and Smishing: This involves using deceptive emails (phishing) or text messages (smishing) that appear to be from legitimate organizations. The goal is to trick you into clicking malicious links or providing sensitive information like passwords, bank account details, or Social Insurance Numbers.

• Example: An email mimicking your bank, claiming your account has been compromised and asking you to click a link to verify your details.

• Identity Theft Angle: Any information you provide goes directly to the scammers, who can then use it to access your accounts or attempt to open new accounts in your name.

4. Employment and Job Scams: During tough economic times, these scams are on the rise. Scammers lure job seekers with fake opportunities, often requesting upfront fees for training or background checks, or asking for personal information for onboarding purposes.

• Example: A company offers you a high-paying remote job with little experience required, but first, you need to purchase expensive software or deposit a check (which turns out to be fake) and send back the excess.

• Identity Theft Angle: They gain access to your personal details, including your banking information under the guise of direct deposit.

5. Romance Scams: These are emotionally manipulative scams where criminals create fake online personas on dating apps or social media, building trust and a romantic relationship with the victim over time. Once they have an emotional hold, they start asking for money for fabricated emergencies, medical bills, or travel.

• Example: A seemingly perfect partner asks for money to come visit you, or to pay for a sick family member's treatment.

• Identity Theft Angle: While primarily financial, they might indirectly gain personal details through prolonged communication.

6. Online Shopping Scams: This category includes situations where consumers pay for goods that are never delivered, or receive counterfeit items. These often originate from fake websites or social media ads offering deals that are too good to be true.

• Example: You order a heavily discounted luxury item from an unfamiliar website, but it never arrives or is a cheap knock-off.

• Identity Theft Angle: Providing credit card details on unsecured or fraudulent websites can lead to direct credit card fraud.

How Can I Help Protect Myself from Online Scammers?

The best defence against these scams is educating yourself about them (you’re already doing that!) and being cautious. 

• Verify, Verify, Verify: Independently verify unsolicited requests. Government agencies/banks will never ask for personal info via email/text, or demand gift cards/cryptocurrency. For businesses, go directly to their official website if an account issue is suspected. Please remember you will never receive an unsolicited phone call from Equifax asking for personal identity or financial information. Contact us directly if anyone claiming to be from Equifax contacts you asking for your information. 

• Don't Be Pressured: Legitimate organizations allow time for verification.

• Educate Yourself: Stay informed about current scams via consumer protection agencies and reputable security blogs.

Get more tips about safeguarding your personal information online and check out Equifax Complete^TM Protection to learn how Equifax can help you protect your identity.

What Should I Do If I’m a Victim of Digital Identity Theft?

If your identity has been stolen and you have an Equifax Complete^TM product, our Identity Restoration Specialists will guide you through the restoration process step by step. Call 1-800-871-3250, Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, to begin the restoration process.

Not a subscriber? Here are some steps you can take to help restore your identity:

• Contact the affected companies

• File a police report

• Report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre

• Place a Fraud Warning with the two national credit bureaus. To place a Fraud Warning with Equifax, call 1-800-465-7166 or choose the Alert form from the dispute options online. 

• Change your passwords

• Monitor your accounts

Get more details about dealing with identity theft.

By remaining vigilant and proactive, you can significantly reduce your risk of becoming another statistic. Your financial security and peace of mind are worth the effort!