When it comes to cyber safety, it is important to be vigilant and know that if you feel something is off, it likely is.
“Using fake emails and crafty scams, phishers trawl the cyber high seas for your banking information, credit card numbers, and passwords,” Get Cyber Safe writes. “Roughly 156 million phishing emails are sent globally every day, so even if a fraction fall for the scam, phishers score big.”
According to Cyber Safe of these 156 million emails, a total of 16 million will find their way through filters: “Many phishing emails end their journey destroyed in spam filters; 10 percent make it through.”
Of those 10 percent that make it through, Cyber Safe states that approximately half of those are opened: “Of those emails that are opened, 10 percent lure someone into clicking on a phishing link.”
A total of 800,000 links are clicked on every day: “And finally, another 10 percent of people who click the link are netted by the baited website. Their information results in stolen identities, financial loss, credit card frauds, and other Internet scams.”
“So in the end, these phishing emails hook about 80,000 victims.”
Staff Sergeant Darren Simons reminds readers that those who organize frauds or email phishing are professionals. That if you have been the victim of a fraud or an email phishing scam you should report it and not feel ashamed of falling for it; as they are professionals.
If you feel unsure about the email, phone call, etc… contact the RCMP or report them via the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (www.antifraudcentre.ca) and do not give any personal or financial information out.
A fraud that has returned is one posing as the Canada Revenue Agency asking for money and threatening to jail you for not paying. Simons says the Canada Revenue Agency cannot do that and asks that individuals report it.
