P.O. BOX 369, EASTEND

SASKATCHEWAN S0N 0T0

Phone: 306-295-3551 or 306-295-3779

Fax: 306-295-3607

Fraud Warnings

Help protect yourself from fraud this holiday season.

Here are a few simple tips:

Unlike phishing e-mails, your financial institution will never ask you to verify personal information in response to an e-mail
Most fake communications convey a sense of urgency by threatening discontinued service
Many fraudulent e-mails contain misspellings, incorrect grammar, and poor punctuation
Links within the fake e-mail may appear valid, but deliver you to a fraudulent site
Phishing e-mails often use generic salutations like ‘Dear Customer’, or ‘Dear Account Holder’ instead of your name
The address from which the e-mail was sent is often not one from the company it claims to be

Stay safe and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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October is Cyber Security Awareness Month

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and Canada’s banks are participating in this international effort to help consumers protect themselves and their computers from cyber crime.

The Internet has made it easier than ever to conduct business and manage our finances with greater speed, efficiency and convenience. Unfortunately, criminals also use the Internet to try to gain access to personal information, such as passwords, personal banking and credit card details and social insurance numbers. Once the criminals have obtained this information, it can be used or sold to others to make fraudulent transactions.

Banks and other businesses have sophisticated security systems in place to protect your personal and financial information and provide you with a safe online environment. Criminals know these strong protections are very difficult to overcome, so they try to get your confidential information directly from you. To avoid becoming a victim, it is important to understand what kinds of scams are out there and how you can protect your home computer and your personal information. The newest scam involves a bogus phone call offering you technical support regarding a virus on your computer.

How does this tech support scam work?

Criminals will call you on the phone and claim to be from a large and recognizable software company, such as Microsoft. They will then attempt to gain your trust by warning you about a virus on your computer and offering to help you locate and delete the virus and then install anti-virus software.

Based on some recent media reports, the callers can be very convincing and may attempt to dupe you into believing the call is legitimate by asking you to open a program called "Windows Event Viewer" which appears to be a list of errors. You’ll be told to download a program that will solve the problem but the program you download will actually give the criminal remote control over your computer – thereby allowing them to access sensitive personal and financial information.

How to protect yourself from telephone tech support scams

There are ways to protect yourself from this type of phone scam.

Microsoft has posted information on its website noting that it would never make this kind of tech support call so if you receive a call, immediately hang up.
Be suspicious of anyone trying to sell you a subscription over the phone for a tech support service.
Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team with whom you are already a customer

For more fraud prevention tips from the Canadian Bankers Association or to sign up to receive new tips by e-mail please visit the Fraud and Security section of the Canadian Bankers Association website.

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Warning: New Fraudulent Activity

In Early January, 2011, a member reported receiving an email that stated "Your account was suspended by Cucardsonline for your security reasons. To re-Activate your Cucardsonline account click the following link"

The email looked convincing but it is a fraudulent attempt to gain information to access your accounts.

No financial institution would ever contact you and ask you for personal information or access codes. They already have that information.

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Don’t be a victim of card fraud

Never lose sight of your card.

Take note of suspicious activity when using your card.

Some skimming is done by the criminal swiping the card once for your legitimate purchase, then a second time, through their own card reader to “read” your card information. This is done by having both machines behind a counter or partition where you can’t see them. In most cases, it takes only one swipe for the merchant’s equipment to read your card. In some cases, cards may be old or dirty and may not read the first time. If you can see the card is being swiped more than once, where you were unable to see the card reader, you should change your PIN immediately.

Always cover the PIN pad from sight with your hand when keying in your PIN.

Never disclose your PIN to anyone including family, friends, financial institution employees, or law enforcement officers or agencies.

Keep your debit card in a safe place and never lend it to anyone.

Memorize your PIN. Never write it down on or near, where you keep your card.

When choosing a PIN, do not use obvious information such as your phone number, address, birth date, or social insurance number.

You may be liable for any losses you incur if you do not take reasonable measures to protect it from detection.

If you feel you may have been exposed to a skimming attempt or any time you feel someone may know your PIN:

Change your PIN number.
Check your account balance and statements frequently to verify your transactions.
If your card is lost or stolen NOTIFY YOUR FINANCIAL INSTITUTION IMMEDIATELY.
If your card is stolen, report the loss to the credit bureau so they can monitor your records to guard against identity theft.
If your card is stolen, report the situation to the police.