Tips For Fraud Protection and Protecting Your Identity

• Guard your card and PIN. Play defence against prying eyes by staying mindful of your surroundings and keeping your PIN protected whether you’re making purchases with your card or at the ATM. Store your card securely to prevent theft and keep your receipts to track your spending.
• Monitor your financial activity. Regularly check your transaction history and account statements using mobile banking apps or your bank’s website to quickly spot any unusual or unauthorized transactions.
• Send money securely. Sending an e-Transfer to someone who doesn’t have auto-deposit enabled on their end? Use a security question that only the recipient would know the answer to. Remember to avoid simple answers that can be easily guessed or researched (like “What’s Canada’s largest city?”) and keep your answers unique and private.
• Safeguard your personal and financial information. Don’t share private information, like your Social Insurance Number (SIN), credit card numbers, and date of birth, unless it’s necessary. And if you do share information, make sure you’re sharing it with reputable companies that are trusted entities—and the information is required for something you’ve initiated (for example, when you’re applying for a mortgage or a credit card).
• Stay vigilant against phishing and smishing. Phishing and smishing are deceptive practices where scammers use fraudulent emails (phishing) or text messages (smishing) to trick you into revealing private information. Never click on links or open attachments in text and social media messages from unknown senders or in unsolicited emails. Always verify the authenticity of any request for personal information. Remember, at TD Insurance, we won't send unsolicited emails or texts asking for your information.
• Use strong, unique passwords. Make sure each of your online accounts has a different password and choose passwords that are hard to guess by mixing letters, numbers, and symbols. If you find it tough to keep track of all your passwords, consider using a password manager to help manage them.

• Be careful what you reveal on the phone. Scammers sometimes claim to be from reputable organizations to trick you into giving away sensitive information—and you may find it hard to say no when they say they're calling about something important like your tax return.  Remember, however, that government agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency and financial institutions will never call you to ask for personal information. 
• Always verify requests for information. Never give your bank account number, credit card number, or other financial information over the phone, unless you made the call yourself or you’ve verified who you’re speaking to. One of the best ways to make this verification? Ask for the caller’s name and tell them you’ll call them back using their organization’s publicly available contact information.
• Beware of demands for payment. If you receive a call demanding payment for a service or product you never agreed to, take control by alerting your bank. They can investigate the party making the claim and see if there’s any suspicious activity occurring on your account.
• Watch out for fake insurers or false brokers. Criminals operating these types of scams often use too-good-to-be-true pricing offers or deals to try to get you to give them private information. If a legitimate insurer is contacting you, they will identify themselves clearly and provide details of your policy that you can validate. And remember, at TD Insurance we sell directly to consumers. This means, whether you're insured with us or are interested in buying a policy from us, you'll never receive a call from a "TD Insurance broker" asking for your financial information. If you're ever in doubt, the Insurance Bureau of Canada has a directory of members with direct links to insurers.
• Invest in additional protection. Our Identity Theft Recovery protection package is a generous package that offers you the help of skilled professionals who will work with you to restore your identity to pre-theft status if your identity is stolen.

• Use two-step verification. Add an extra layer of security to your online accounts with two-step verification. This method requires two authentication methods before you can access your accounts, making it tougher for scammers to get to your sensitive information.
• Opt for tap-to-pay. Concerned about handing over your card to a merchant or a restaurant server? Keep your credit card or debit card details safe using wallet services like Google Wallet ^TM, Samsung Pay ^TM, or Apple Pay^TM on your mobile devices   This way, you can pay without anyone else handling your physical card.
• Protect your documents online. Use digital signatures and data encryption to keep your private documents secure. These tools help protect your personal information in documents shared online.
• Stay safe in public. Always log out of your accounts when using public computers and don’t save any login details during your session. If you need Internet access while on the go, only connect to public wi-fi networks that are secure (your mobile device will show a lock symbol beside all secure networks).
• Install anti-virus software. Keep your devices safe from viruses, ransomware, and other threats by installing reliable anti-virus software from a trusted source. It’s a simple but effective way to protect your digital spaces.
• Benefit from AI in fraud detection. AI tools enhance the safety of your transactions by quickly spotting unusual activity that could be fraud. For example, at TD Insurance, we use AI tech in our data analytics to improve the speed and accuracy of our fraud detection processes for a more secure customer experience.

• Expert recovery help. When your identity is compromised, specialized experts step in to help you through the process of reclaiming your life, from navigating the legalities to repairing your credit.
• Coverage for recovery costs. Get back most of what you spend to recover your identity, such as legal fees and long-distance charges, so you can stay focused on recovery rather than cost.
• Income loss support. Recovering your identity can take up a lot of your time. Our package offers protection for  possible income loss you experience if, for example, you need to take time off work to deal with an identity theft issue.

The specific cost of identity theft insurance can vary, depending on factors such as the coverage offered and the insurance provider. Our Identity Theft Recovery protection package, for example, provides coverage that includes specialized experts who actively work with you to reclaim your identity.

Knowing how to spot potential fraud is one of the most important tools in your fraud prevention kit. Be particularly aware of the following warning signs:

• You’ve received fraud alert notifications from your bank. For example, with TD Fraud Alert, you’ll receive an instant text message letting you know if we detect suspicious activity on your TD Credit Cards or TD Access Cards.
• You discover unusual transactions in your accounts. If your bank statements or online activity reveal transactions that you don’t recognize, it could be a major red flag for identity theft.
• You’re notified of financing applications you didn’t make. For example, a creditor calls you about a credit card or loan application they received in your name, but you never applied for the financing.
• You see an unfamiliar name on your accounts. Your credit card, bank or other billing statements feature a name that doesn’t belong to you or your account.
• You’re not getting your bank or credit card statements.  If you notice you're not receiving statements and other bank communications in the mail as expected, someone may have changed your address on file.
• You can’t find your banking essentials. Your credit card, chequebook or passbook is stolen or lost, putting you at risk of unauthorized use.

If you’re a TD customer and you notice any of these unusual activities, don’t hesitate to reach out to TD fraud protection for immediate assistance.

Whether it's seeing a transaction on your credit card statement for a purchase at a business you've never frequented or discovering a loan you don't recognize on your credit report, it’s hard not to panic when you suspect you’re the victim of fraud or identity theft. 

If you find yourself in this situation, take a step back to breathe and take stock of things. You’ll need to report the fraud, and this means your first step is to gather all the information that could be relevant. For example: 

• Phone fraud: Note down every detail you can about the incident, such as the name of the person you talked to, their phone number, the information you gave them, and when the call or calls took place.
• Online fraud: Take screenshots or print out any web pages that played a role in the scam, like product pages and the site’s terms and conditions. If you landed on the site through a search engine, make a note of your search terms and whether you clicked on an ad or on a search result.
• Email fraud: Don’t delete the email(s) involved. Depending on the email provider you use, you may be able to get the IP address of the sender by viewing the email’s header.
• Text or message fraud: Save the message so you can provide information about the sender such as their phone number or social media username. 

You should also save any other documents that provide evidence of the fraud, such as cancelled cheques, receipts, and credit reports.

Once you have your information gathered, here’s how to report the fraud or identity theft:

1. File a police report. Fraud and identity theft are crimes and should be reported to your local police. Hang on to the file number you receive, so you can update your report, especially if you find more suspicious activity involving your stolen information.
2. Notify the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC). You can report the fraud to the CAFC either online or by calling 1-888-495-8501.
3. Contact your financial institution. In addition to reporting the incident to the financial institution you sent payments to, be sure to notify your own bank as well so they can monitor your accounts for suspicious activity.
4. Call the credit bureaus. Contact both Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada to get a free copy of your credit report. You should also ask them to place a fraud alert on your file.
   
5. Report to any websites involved. If the scammers were operating online using a legitimate business's website—for example, through a social media platform or an online auction site—report the incident to that website’s administrators.
6. Call Service Canada. If you suspect someone has stolen your SIN, contact Service Canada at 1-866-274-2267 immediately. 

For increased protection against fraud and to learn more about identity theft, see our Identity Theft Recovery protection package.

¹ https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/fraud-too-common-canada-nearly-half-43-canadians-have-knowingly-been-victimized-fraud-or-scams-0

² https://www.equiteassociation.com/news-announcements/td-insurance-raises-awareness-on-opportunistic-fraud

³ https://assets.equifax.com/assets/canada/english/eq-h2-2023-fraudtrends-report-en.pdf