How To articles

Ten most common scams

Cyber criminals are innovative and always looking for new ways to scam unsuspecting people.  It’s important to be aware of the most common ways cyber criminals try to scam people and be diligent in protecting ourselves form these tactics.   Most com...

What is vishing and why should I care?

Imagine getting a call from someone who sounds exactly like your boss, urgently asking you to transfer money. Would you do it? That’s the power of vishing – and why it’s so dangerous. Cyber criminals are innovative and always looking for new ways t...

Do you suspect fraud? What to do next

I am suspicious – what should I do? The good news is you are suspicious and therefore taking a moment to think about what is happening. It is always better to be cautious and think about the situation through a logical lens.  This helps by changing ...

Working Together to Stop Fraud

In today's interconnected world, fraud is an ever-evolving challenge. Scammers constantly develop sophisticated methods, making it feel overwhelming and sometimes isolating. But you are not alone in this fight. Combating fraud is a collaborative ef...

What is smishing? What can I do about it?

In today's digital world, scams are increasingly common, and one type you might encounter is called "smishing." Smishing is a type of phishing, delivered through text messages (SMS) instead of emails. Scammers send deceptive text messages pretending...

Service provider impersonation scam

A fraud scam is targeting customers using phone calls, text or social media messages. These callers pose as representatives of service providers, often gaining trust by citing “recent outages in your area”, “a class action case”, or “research on ser...

Suspicious Call Detection

What is suspicious call detection and how does it protect me?   Suspicious call detection uses AI analytics to monitor incoming calls in real time, and it alerts you about potential spam or fraud; allowing you to decide whether to answer incoming cal...

Cell phone service provider scam

There is currently a sophisticated fraud scam taking place where fraudsters are posing as and claiming to be representatives of a service provider.   The fraudsters call potential victims claiming to be from their service provider. They offer a prom...

How to identify fraud

What is fraud? So what do we mean when we say “fraud”?  Fraud is any activity that relies on deception to realize a gain. More specifically and what we usually talk about is fraud from a criminal perspective which is when someone knowingly misrepres...

Protecting older adults online

In an increasingly digital world, ensuring the safety of older adults online is paramount. Cybercriminals have many tricks up their sleeves and they sometimes specifically target older adult as they can be more vulnerable.   Here are some things you...

Navigating safely on the internet

The internet has made our lives much easier and we have become dependent on it for interacting, shopping, getting news and entertainment around the globe. With so many of us now connected, attackers now have an incredibly large number of targets. Th...

Protecting your kids online

The internet has transformed how we interact, shop, and find entertainment.  Instant global connections, vast information access, and online gaming have become commonplace.   However, along with these advantages, come risks.  Cybercriminals seek dat...

Understanding the “grandparent scam”

Deception is a key element in fraud, but what allows the deception to seem real is how fraudsters use our emotions against us. Human emotions are very powerful and when certain emotions are triggered, it can cloud our decision making. A type of fra...

Emotions – The cornerstone of fraud

In every attempted scam, deception is the key attribute. Fraudsters employ tactics to make individuals feel comfortable, feel the need to disclose information or take some sort of action. Playing on emotions is used in almost every scam and is anoth...

12 scams of the holiday season

As online shopping increases, it’s important to be aware of cyber fraud during the holiday season. Scams that target holiday shoppers often rely on fake websites that mimic real online stores, offers that appear too good to be true, bonus gift cards...

Protecting your social media interactions

As humans we love to interact with each other, in person and online. Email, video, social media, messenger apps, gaming and many others methods allow us to interact and share information with people around the world in real time.  Social media is on...

Protecting your digital footprint

In today’s highly digital and hyper-connected world, a great deal of our interactions, shopping and entertainment now comes over the internet. We can now connect to anyone anywhere and access a wide range of information and products from around the ...