RCMP Detachments across the province are being informed of emails appearing on the surface look to be coming from legitimate companies such as Netflix and Amazon but are actually coming from someone looking to defraud you. This isn’t good ol’ Nova Scotia fishing, this is criminals looking to gain access to your credit card information and/or your personal data –
phishing.
Cst. Ryan Berry of the Nova Scotia RCMP Financial Crimes Unit suggests the following:
How to identify it’s not a legitimate email without putting yourself at risk:
1. Do not click any links or the body of the email. The most recent e-mails have the entire body of the email as a clickable link that will take the user to a site that looks very much like Netflix, and ask for billing information to be updated. If the information is updated, this will give the fraudsters your financial information.
- Click to view the contact at the top of the email.
- The sender’s name will display as Netflix (or Amazon etc) and appear legitimate. When you view the contact, it will display the actual email address. The addresses are always different, but will not be a legitimate email, and will have domain (the part after the @) that does not match with the company. In the example @marvels.com is not what you’d expect to see from a company.
If you are unsure at all, contact the company (Netflix, Amazon etc) direct, to ensure your account information is up to date.
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Source : Media Release