NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
***************************
The following bulletin was prepared by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) and supported by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and members of the Southern Georgian Bay OPP Detachment to warn and educate Canadians of ongoing financial scams.
This bulletin was prepared to share a success story with the public. On Oct. 24, 2022, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and the United States Secret Service (USSS), along with a financial institution, were able to freeze a $58,000 fraudulent transfer. As of Oct. 3, 2022, the CAFC assisted victims in recovering over $2,400,000 this year.
The funds were frozen after a business reported to the CAFC that they were a victim of a spear phishing incident. As a result, the business is well positioned to recover their funds.
Spear phishing is one of the most common and most dangerous attack methods currently used to conduct fraud, usually on businesses and organizations. Fraudsters take their time to collect information on their intended targets, so they can send convincing emails seemingly from a trusted source.
Fraudsters will infiltrate or spoof a business or individual email account. They create a rule to send copies of incoming emails forwarded to one of their own accounts. They comb through these emails to:
• study the sender's use of language
• look for patterns linked to important contacts, payments, and dates
How to protect yourself
• Remain current on frauds targeting businesses and educate all employees
• Include fraud training as part of new employee onboarding
• Put in place detailed payment procedures
o Encourage a verification step for unusual requests
• Establish fraud identifying, managing and reporting procedures
• Avoid opening unsolicited emails or clicking on suspicious links or attachments
• Take a few seconds to hover over an email address or link and confirm that they are correct
• Restrict the amount of information shared publicly and show caution with regards to social media
• Upgrade and update technical security software
• Learn more tips and tricks for protecting yourself
Anyone who suspects they have been the victim of cybercrime or fraud should report it to their local police and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's online reporting system or by phone at 1-888-495-8501. If not a victim, you should still report the incident to the CAFC.
• Follow @GetCyberSafe and visit their website
• Follow us @Canantifraud on Twitter and Facebook and visit our website
• Use the hashtags #CyberMonth2022 #GetCyberSafe #CyberSecurity and #Cyber
• Learn more about the new cybercrime and fraud reporting system that the CAFC is developing in partnership with the National Cybercrime Coordination Unit (NC3)
***************************
