Service Canada is warning Canadians fraudsters are posing as the federal agency and trying to scam people through text messages, email and phone calls.
“Heads up! Suspicious email, text and phone messages claiming to be from Service Canada are circulating,” said the federal government this morning.
Frauds and scams try to impersonate federal employees to obtain personal information from Canadians, such as asking for social insurance numbers, credit cards or banking information. These scammers may also try to ask for payment or direct Canadians to websites demanding outstanding payments.
📢 Heads up! Suspicious email 💻, text 📱 and phone messages ☎️ claiming to be from Service Canada are circulating.
Learn how to protect yourself from fraud ➡️ https://t.co/nH6SfrSQXd pic.twitter.com/BzeF7lyTn7
— Service Canada (@ServiceCanada_E) August 18, 2020
“You should be vigilant when any person claiming to be a Service Canada or 1 800 O-Canada employee contacts you in a way that you are usually not contacted by the federal government,” explains a fraud notice from Employment and Social Development Canada.
“When in doubt, to verify the identity of the caller as a Service Canada employee, please hang up and contact 1-800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232) directly,” adds the government.
Other scams lately involve the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), with fraudsters sending out invites to sign up for the COVID-19 benefit, to obtain your information.
To protect yourself from identity theft, always be suspicious of any incoming phone call, email or text as they may be scams (except when they’re from your mom).
