Kevin Kwok

Plenty of Phish in Canada

I’m Kevin, and this page is here to help you against phishing.

Canadians are doing more and more of their personal business online. But do you really know who you you are dealing with?

Phishing attacks are designed to convince you that the request is from a legitimate source, and extort personal information like credit cards, passwords, passport and driver license info, and any data that could be used to steal from you or impersonate you for the purposes of crime.

You can protect yourself by asking these 8 questions every time you receive a suspicious email.

1.Is it Urgent?: Does the subject line try to convince you this an urgent matter?

2.Is it from the right person?: Does the email say it’s from a trusted organization (i.e. your bank) but the From or Reply-To lines say someone’s personal email (like gmail, hotmail)?

3.Is this really you?: Do they use your name or a generic greeting like “Dear Client” or “Valued Customer”?

4.Is it the right address?: If there is a link to click on, hover over it with your mouse. If it looks like strange location, don’t click.

5.Is is asking for information?:Trusted organizations will never ask you for passwords, or financial information via email.

6.Is this true?: If the email is from a “friend” or someone you know, does this really sound like something they would send (i.e. your mother lost her wallet in Jamaica?)

7.Is there an attachment?: Do NOT open any attachments if you are suspicious.

8. Is it too good to be true?: If the email is unexpected or too enticing, it probably is fake.

To find out more about phishing and how to identify phishing attacks, take a look at the website for the Get Cyber Safe from the Government of Canada by clicking on the "Back my Campaign" banner.