Sometimes the fraud is sneakier—although who can be blamed for wanting to pay a bill? For Daria, she and six friends paid Bailey, a “travel hacker” for a trip to Thailand in January 2024. A had a Clubhouse group (remember the conversation app?) and Daria and the other members had got great tips from A and other co-mods in the space. (Names have been changed as the case has yet to be resolved.)
The seven women paid Bailey for hotel rooms and flew the 20-hour trip from North America to Thailand, only to find out that Bailey wasn’t joining them until a few days later. Then to their horror, Bailey never showed up, canceled her trip two days before it ended and had never paid the hotel for their rooms with the money she was paid by the seven women. Just one received a refund. The others have issued credit card chargebacks and have even contacted the FBI.
It seems like scams and phishing attacks are everywhere. If they’re not calling or texting, they are messaging you. On every. Single. Platform. Just as writing this, I had two calls threatening me with the police and a text message asking me to verify my address.
It’s irritating at best and financially devastating at worst. According to the RCMP, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) received reports totalling $531 million in victim losses in 2022. That’s a 40% increase from 2021. In 2023, Canadians lost $554 million. Think those numbers are big? Know that the CAFC estimates that just five to 10% of people report fraud.
Why do scams and phishing work on Canadians?
Why do we fall for frauds, scams and phishing? Maggie Cheung, a spokesperson from the Canadian Bankers Association, says it’s because of deception, manipulation and pressure tactics.
“Cyber criminals often use human psychology and the art of manipulation to scare, confuse or rush you into opening a malicious link or attachment or into providing personal information through a process known as social engineering,” she says.
These social engineering tactics force us to respond quickly, through the use of fear (like, you owe the Canada Revenue Agency money that needs to be paid stat) and leveraging our urges to respond to authority. (The CEO really needs you to send that bank transfer now, and the email looks real). These pressure tactics are so sophisticated, they’re believable. That’s why the finance writer of The Cut found herself putting USD$50,000 in a cardboard box into the back of a car.
The common types of scams
Anyone can be a victim of a scam, says Cheung. That’s because the techniques to convince you are complex, and cyber criminals are adept at telling a believable story. Some of the more popular scams are:
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