It uses your real name: New email scam targets Ontario residents

A new scam using people’s real names is circulating in Ontario.

The scam has elements of imposter and phishing scams.

An imposter scam is typically an email, call or text that appears to be someone you know or trust. The scammer hopes to trick the recipient into providing personal information or money.

In Canada, common imposters pretend to be from government agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada, according to the federal government. 

But in scams now circulating in the Mississauga area the fraudsters have real names of a business associate, family member or friend.

In a recent email obtained by INsauga.com, the sender uses the name of the recipient’s employer.

In this case, the email is from an unknown person but the subject line contains the real name of the recipient’s employer (blurred). The scammer also uses the real name of the recipient in the body of the email.

The scammer simply writes: “Kindly email me your cell number.” The person recognized this as a scam and did not respond.

The scam email sent to an Ontario resident with names blurred.

This follows a similar scam, also circulating in Ontario, but the person received a message signed by her husband, using his real name, but it wasn’t from him.

“[Recipient’s real name], free at the moment?” the text read from an unknown number. “[Recipient’s husband’s real name].”

These scams are creepy as the fraudster has researched the recipients, likely through social media or websites.

While the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre doesn’t appear to specifically mention this type of scam, other government organizations in the U.S. and Australia do mention it.

Scam Watch in Australia notes this is an imposter scam and in addition to tricking people into thinking they are from the police, government, banks, they can “even pretend to be your friend or family member.”

The U.S. government notes a caller can pose “as someone you know or trust in order to obtain money or personal information.”

Scammers can spoof a legitimate caller’s number to appear more realistic.

As fraudsters appear to be getting more savvy, people should be on the alert.

Here are some tips from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre:

• Fraudsters will often provide the first four to six numbers of your debit or credit card
  • Remember that most debit and credit card numbers with specific financial institutions begin with the same four to six numbers
• Do not assume that phone numbers appearing on your call display are accurate, criminals use call-spoofing to mislead victims.
• If you get an incoming call claiming to be from your financial institution, advise the caller that you will call them back
  • End the call and dial the number on the back of your card from a different phone if possible or wait 10 minutes before making the outgoing call
• Never be afraid to disconnect the call
• Never allow an unknown person to gain remote access to your computer/device
• Always have your computer/device serviced by a reputable business
• Never pay an advance fee to get a refund

Visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website for more information and to report a scam.

Lead photo: Torsten Dettlaff