Phish, vish, smish – how banks are helping Canadians spot digital fraud

by: The Canadian Bankers Association

Most of us know what phishing scams are - attempts by cybercriminals to trick you into revealing your personal information by sending convincing-looking and authentic-sounding emails, texts, voicemails and direct messages that appear to be from a legitimate organization.

Many of us might think we can easily spot a phishing message. But cybercriminals are constantly changing tactics to try and trick you. It’s helpful to know not only the latest forms of phishing attacks, but also the tactics used by cybercriminals to motivate you to act on their demands.

To help, the Canadian Bankers Association has created a new Cyber Security Awareness Quiz site to test your knowledge and ability to spot a “phishy” email, message or text.

Focusing on phishing prevention

Why the focus on phishing? Because it’s a big problem. More than three billion^{Footnote i} phishing emails are sent worldwide every day. And the volume of phishing attacks is increasing. According to a Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) report, the number of phishing attacks blocked by Canada’s cyber security service nearly doubled in the third quarter of 2021.^{Footnote ii} And cybercriminals are taking advantage of the increased time Canadians are spending online.

Banks are here to help

As you can see from our fact sheet, banks in Canada take fraud, cyber security and data protection very seriously and are working around the clock to safeguard your money and personal information.

Protecting customer money and data is a fundamental priority for banks. They are recognized for their commitment to fraud prevention and cyber security practices and their strong investments in technology and security measures. Banks also understand they have a role to play in helping to educate Canadians about how to protect themselves from frauds and scams.

Resources to protect yourself

Each week, head on over to the CBA’s Cyber Security Awareness Quiz site to test your knowledge of the latest phishing scams, phishing tactics and to find quick and easy resources to help individuals and small businesses protect against common scams.

Here are a few more resources to help strengthen your cyber defences:

• Download your copy of the CBA’s Cyber Security Toolkit for Consumers, created in partnership with the Government of Canada’s Get Cyber Safe campaign
• Check out the CBA’s cyber security & fraud prevention learning guide
• Sign up for the CBA’s free fraud prevention newsletter to learn about the latest scams

Footnotes

1. i

   Source: EarthWeb, 2022 How many phishing emails are sent daily in 2022?

2. ii

   Source: CIRA https://www.cira.ca/resources/cybersecurity/report/cira-canadian-shield-insight