Common scams 

With cyberfraud incidents on the rise and fraudsters waging sophisticated attacks through phone, text, and email, it’s important to recognize the warning signs that someone is trying to scam you.

We’ve identified the most common scams that fraudsters are currently using to steal your money and personal information.   

Magnifying glass

Am I being scammed?

It’s often difficult to tell the difference between a scam and an urgent request or a new opportunity. This tool will help you to determine whether or not you’re being targeted by a common scam and guide you to more information as to how to spot and avoid everyday scams.

Common scams that target your personal information

Fake websites and online shopping fraud

Scammers and fraudsters are taking advantage of the growth of the digital marketing industry, specifically the increase in e-commerce, by creating fake websites that capture sensitive information or spread malware (malicious software).

These types of scams involve directing victims to fake websites, often online shopping websites, through the use of fake emails and online ads that offer deals that are too good to be true.

Just like legitimate websites, fake websites will prompt you to enter your personal and credit card information to complete a transaction or enter a contest. However, unlike legitimate sites, once you make a purchase or enter your information, you won’t receive your item or win a contest, and fraudsters will now have access to your personal and financial information.

At an initial glance, these types of scams are difficult to recognize because scammers use a technique called pagejacking to create convincing fraudulent websites.

Pagejacking is when scammers illegally copy legitimate website content to then use on their fake website, making a convincing duplicate of the real website.

It’s important to take things slowly and to carefully review websites you access through email/SMS links or online ads.

It’s only by slowing down that you start noticing suspicious elements within the website:

  • The website URL starts with “http” instead of “https” (the “s” stands for secure) and does not display a tiny padlock icon in the address bar
  • The site looks poorly designed, unprofessional, and has broken links
  • You can't find an address or phone number for the business; follow up with a Google search of the business name to see if there are other sites that show a different address
  • Sales, return, and privacy policies are hard to find or unclear
  • The back button is disabled, and you get stuck on a page and can't go back
  • You're asked for credit card information anytime other than when you’re making a purchase

You can develop good habits to protect yourself from online shopping fraud.

Never respond to pop-up messages on a website that asks for your financial information.

If the price of an item or the opportunity presented seems way too good to be true, don’t select the link provided until you’ve researched the price of other retailers. Instead of selecting a link in a text message or email, use a search engine like Google to search for the company’s legitimate website and find the deal you’re looking for. 

You can also use the email or phone number listed on their website to contact the company to validate the offer.

If you’re a Scotiabank customer and believe you’ve been impacted by online fraud, immediately call us at 1-866-625-0561.

Make sure to also report all shopping scams to your local police department.

Recognize it

Be wary of websites that are poorly designed, have broken links, aren’t secure (http), or don’t include proper contact information. 

Reject it

If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It’s safer to just ignore it.

Report it

Report an incident or suspicious activity