Phishing is the cybercriminal behaviour of sending emails purporting to be from legitimate companies that induce individuals or businesses to reveal personal, financial or business information, such as passwords, account and credit card numbers. These fake emails can be difficult to recognize as fraudulent, but there are certain things you should look out for.
The Phishy Five: Five things we will never ask you to do or to provide us
To help protect yourself from cybercriminals, look out for these five things, which RBC will never ask you to do or to provide. If you see an email asking for them, hit “Delete”, and call us to ensure all is well.
- Provide online banking codes like your secure key, four-digit PIN or password: RBC will NEVER ask you to provide your password to confirm your identity or anything else. If you call into the RBC Banking call center, a banking representative might ask you to confirm your identity with your four-digit security PIN, but only when speaking to you directly, and never via email.
- Confirm a transaction you didn’t complete is “authorized": RBC will never send such a request – period. We do not confirm transactions after the fact, not to mention via unsecure email.
- Send money or purchase gift cards: A popular way for cybercriminals to get money from their victims without any way to trace it is to have you send money through a wire service or by purchasing gift cards and providing those to an agent of the fraudsters. We will NEVER ask you to wire us money or to provide us with payment using gift cards.
- Transfer funds to a different account for “safekeeping”: This scam is growing, and often represents a breach of your email account. Using your email, the cybercriminals know you have a legitimate transaction underway (e.g., a house purchase or RRSP contribution), and their aim is to divert the funds you are providing us to an account that looks official, but which is actually under their control.
- Click on a document or link: We will NOT send you documents and/or links to click on, and that includes to do so via file-sharing services such as DropBox and iCloud. We will only do so when you have advance awareness that such a document or link will be directed to you (for example, if your Investment Advisor shares a link with you or provides you with a newsletter containing links in it).
Call before you click!
Despite their increasing audacity and cleverness, cybercriminals can’t bypass one very important validation step: contacting your advisor and/or their team, or calling the Call Centre support number on the back of your bank or Visa card. And, using secure platforms to correspond and transact, such as RBC Wealth Management Online, will help you avoid being compromised. To learn more, check out the RBC Cyber Security site (don’t worry – it’s safe!) for helpful insights to defend against cybercrime, while keeping you up to date on the latest scams.
This information is not intended as nor does it constitute tax or legal advice. Readers should consult their own lawyer, accountant or other professional advisor when planning to implement a strategy. This information is not investment advice and should be used only in conjunction with a discussion with your RBC Dominion Securities Inc. Investment Advisor. This will ensure that your own circumstances have been considered properly and that action is taken on the latest available information. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time obtained but neither RBC Dominion Securities Inc. nor its employees, agents, or information suppliers can guarantee its accuracy or completeness. This report is not and under no circumstances is to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. This report is furnished on the basis and understanding that neither RBC Dominion Securities Inc. nor its employees, agents, or information suppliers is to be under any responsibility or liability whatsoever in respect thereof. The inventories of RBC Dominion Securities Inc. may from time to time include securities mentioned herein. RBC Dominion Securities Inc.* and Royal Bank of Canada are separate corporate entities which are affiliated. *Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund. RBC Dominion Securities Inc. is a member company of RBC Wealth Management, a business segment of Royal Bank of Canada. ® / TM Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under license.