Chances are, most of us have received that unsolicited email or a website link asking for information and sometimes it’s hard to know the difference between what’s legitimate and what isn’t. While fraud comes in many forms, the good news is that being aware can help you stay safe.

The Competition Bureau offers these great tips:

• Don’t be fooled by the promise of a valuable prize in return for a low-cost purchase.
  
  
• Be extra cautious about calls, emails or mailings offering international bonds or lottery tickets, a portion of a foreign dignitary’s bank account, free vacations, credit repair or schemes with unlimited income potential.
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to hang up the phone, delete the email or close your Internet connection.
  
  
• Don’t purchase a product or service without carefully checking out the product, service and company.
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to request further documentation from the caller so you can verify the validity of the company.
  
  
• Never disclose personal information about your finances, bank accounts, credit cards, social insurance and driver’s license numbers to any business that can’t prove it is legitimate.
  
  
• Shred unwanted personal information such as bank statements, credit card bills, unwanted receipts, cheques, pre-approved credit applications and old tax returns.
  
  
• Check your credit report every year and report problems immediately.
  
  
• If a scam artist contacts you, or if you’ve been defrauded: Report it! Your reports are vital to the anti-fraud efforts of law enforcement agencies.

For a complete listing of all identified threats, please visit the National Anti-Fraud website. If you suspect a communication (mail, email, phone call, text mesage, tweet, etc..) claiming to be from LaHave River Credit Union to be fraudulent, please contact us immediately. Never click or follow instruction from the communication in question.

Urgent Fraud Alerts

Beware of Intercepted e-Transfers

Intercepted e-Transfers occur when a person sends a legitmate e-Transfer to someone they know. Criminals seize the opportunity to deposit the funds to a fake account before the intended recipient has a chance to accept the deposit. The interception is not caused by a flaw in MemberDirect or Interac e-Transfer^® products, but because the recipient's email account was accessed by a criminal. Once in the account, criminals can see the notification from Interac and use the deposit link to redirect the funds into a different account by answering the security question because the answer was also emailed or the question is to simple and easily guessed.

Here are tips to keep your e-Transfers safe from interception:

• Do not communicate the answer to your security questions via email. Call and/or text the recipient with the password.
  
  
• Select a question and answer that is not easy for a third party to guess.
  
  
• Be cautious not to click on any phishing links and ensure that they are only transacting with trusted websites, vendors and people.
  
  
• Immediately notify us if you sense anything suspicious about a transaction.

Beware of scammers impersonating the Canada Revenue Agency

The RCMP and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are warning Canadians about an ongoing scam in which taxpayers across the country receive phone calls or emails from individuals impersonating CRA employees. These people are scammers.

The scammers tell taxpayer that they either owe money to the CRA or have a tax refund. Taxpayers are threatened with arrest or jail time if they do not take immediate action and provide money or personal or financial information.

Quick facts

• The RCMP plays a crucial role in educating the public about scams, and has a number of programs in place to track fraud, including one run by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC).
  
  
• The CAFC monitors all types of scams, and warns Canadians to be on the lookout for scammers during the upcoming tax season.
  
  
• The RCMP also works closely with the CRA to raise awareness about tax-related scams.
  
  
• When CRA employees call taxpayers, they follow established procedures to ensure personal information is protected.
  
  
• To confirm the authenticity of a call, contact the CRA by using its official telephone number for individual tax enquiries: 1-800-959-8281.
  
  
• You can also verify your individual tax account through a secure CRA portal: My Account.

If you believe you may be the victim of fraud or have given personal or financial information in error, contact your local police service and your financial institution.