FCAC warns Canadians to beware of unsolicited telephone calls asking for personal and financial information

August 16, 2019
Ottawa, ON

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) is warning Canadians to beware of unsolicited telephone calls from individuals asking for their personal and financial information.

FCAC has learned of suspicious incidents involving telephone calls to Canadians that appear to come from FCAC’s Consumer Service Centre. The callers have been asking consumers for their SIN numbers and credit card information. It is important for Canadians to know that FCAC does not initiate contact with or ask for personal and financial information from Canadians.

Be aware that a caller ID is not a good indicator of who is calling. Fraudsters may change the information that appears on the Caller ID display (a practice known as Caller ID spoofing) to misrepresent themselves and in an effort to commit identity theft.

FCAC advises anyone who receives an unsolicited call asking for their personal or financial information to take the following steps:

• Ask for the caller’s name, company name and department, and then end the call.
• Verify the caller’s information by looking for a telephone number on your credit card, bill or account statement, online or in a telephone directory before calling the company directly.
• Call the company directly and ask to speak to the person who contacted you and confirm any information the caller told you, such as whether there has been any fraud related to your account.
• If you think you may have been a victim of fraud, report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.