Protect your money from texting fraud

Text messaging is the latest tool fraudsters are using to access your personal and financial information.

“We’re starting to see a bit of an emerging trend with fraudsters moving to texting,” says Scott Gamble, TD Canada Trust’s vice president of account recovery and fraud management. “When people first started texting, it was their friends and family who had their number. But now we’re using our mobiles for a lot more things, and our cell numbers are out there way more than they were before. With texting, people may not have their guard up as much.”

March is Fraud Prevention Month, and a recent poll by TD Canada Trust shows that 81 per cent of Canadians are concerned about themselves or someone they care about becoming a victim of fraud.

What's really keeping us up at night?

• identity theft (84 per cent)

• online fraud (81 per cent)

• credit card fraud (80 per cent)

• debit card fraud (79 per cent).

How do text scams work?

Like phishing scams, fraudulent texts will request you click on a link to a website or call a certain phone number.

“You’ll think it’s from a legitimate company and when you click on it [the web address] it goes to a fraudulent website or it will ask you to call a 1-800 number, but it’s a fraudster on the other end,” Gamble says. “It’s all about trying to get information. That’s the power for them -- getting information whether it’s through texting or through social media or any way they can.”

There are several steps people can take to avoid being duped.

Use a password on your cellphone
“A lot of people don’t even use the built-in lock function on their phone,” Gamble says. “With people using their phones more for products and services online and with social media, the phone is becoming your mobile wallet, so you’ve got to think of it like your wallet.”

Report it
“If you receive a fraudulent text, report the text to the bank or whoever is being portrayed,” Gamble says. “Always check your bank account on a regular basis and know what’s going through on your bank account and your credit cards. If you think you've been victim of fraud, report it.”

Guard your cards
Seventeen per cent of Canadians have allowed someone to borrow their debit or credit card, the TD poll found, and 12 per cent have given out their credit-card number over the phone when they were called. Never provide such numbers to unsolicited callers.

Guard your PIN and passwords, and change them often
Thirteen per cent of Canadians have shared their credit-card or debit card PIN with others, while another 9 per cent have carried their PIN in their wallet. Eighty-five per cent of Canadians do not change their banking passwords regularly, and 89 per cent don’t regularly change their PINs, simple measures that can help reduce the risk of fraud.

Only do business on websites you trust
If you get sent a text or an email directing you to a website, avoid clicking on the URL. Rather, type in the web address manually.

“Clicking on an URL sometimes takes you to a fraudulent website,” Gamble says. “Look at the URL: when phishing happens, it might be completely different from the name of the website you’re supposedly being directly to.”

“The key message is that consumers are the first line of defence against fraud,” he adds. “They can play a big role in stopping fraud. If someone’s had access to your bank account, even if you don’t lose any money, it’s still unnerving. It’s a very customer-disruptive thing we have in our Canadian marketplace. And fraudsters are innovative.”