The RCMP would like to remind online shoppers to be alert to scams this holiday season.
With a higher volume of online shoppers during the holidays, it is important to stay safe and keep yourself and loved ones aware of the risk of cyber fraud. Staff Sergeant Kevin Cavanagh of the RCMP cyber and financial crime unit spoke with us about how to protect yourself and what to look out for when shopping online.
"Look out for deep discounts or blowout sales and prices that are too good to be true, and don't really match with what you would see in the general marketplace. As well as generic language such as referring to things as 'the item,' not really explaining what they are, and then down to simple issues such as spelling errors or general lack of professional appearance of the website."
It is recommended that you slow down, take your time to look through the website before making any purchases. Look for red flags such as online reviews and the age of the website. A new website that appeared in recent months could be a sign of a scam.
"A lot of these scams will rely on a sense of urgency, so when people take a step back, think through it, you'll start to notice those little things that just don't really add up. You want to think about what type of payment methods you're using. Use of credit cards, where you have some kind of third-party protection, is technically good versus e-transfer. Also, if you're finding these websites, it's good to navigate to them through a trusted search engine such as Google or Yahoo instead of clicking on a random link in social media."
Identity theft can also be a consequence of an online scam. This can affect your credit score if a loan is taken out in your name. It could also lead to websites sharing your passwords and credentials.
The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has made creating scams easier and more effective.
"In the past, if you had to create a website as a scammer, it could take quite a bit of time. Now, within seconds, a scammer is able to create a new kind of shell of a website... Essentially, it has multiplied how quickly they can bring a scam to market."
Another kind of common scam is phishing texts. After you purchase an item, you may receive a text claiming the package delivery has been delayed, asking for payment information and including a link to the fraudulent website.
If you are the victim of an online scam, you should first assess what happened. Write out the events that occurred to keep them fresh in your memory and report the incident to local police. In addition, it is important that you report it to the National Cybercrime and Fraud Reporting System.
This can be found online through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and can be used to link cases across the country by law enforcement.
