MONTREAL — Canadians face a fresh wave of scams as fraudsters seize on the Canada Post strike to try to trick victims out of their cash.
The last few weeks have seen an "exponential" rise in fraud attempts, ranging from phishing emails to deepfake phone calls, says Octavia Howell, chief information security officer at Equifax Canada.
"Any time there is a major political event, a major strike or anything like that, we'll see an uptick," she said in a phone interview.
"Not only is there a Canada Post strike ... it's the holidays."
Scams related to parcels and deliveries typically tick up in step with online shopping orders this time of year, but the work stoppage at Canada Post has led to even more fraud attempts amid the confusion around shipments, Howell said.
Comprehensive figures on the latest batch of scams are not yet available from Equifax Canada, but the credit bureau's daily internal updates have marked the rise nonetheless.
Rather than the roughly half-dozen daily consumer fraud reports of previous increases, Equifax Canada's investigations team is filing up to "87 in one report in one day coming from the same IP addresses," said Howell.
She called the trend "insidious."
"We're seeing exponential growth in the amount of scams that are actually happening ... because, one, holidays, and then two, people aren't able to get their shipments out."
Mail carriers walked off the job on Nov. 15, halting deliveries of letters and packages at the start of the holiday shipping season.
Canada Post says that it never reaches out to users about a delivery via text or email unless it has been requested to.
The Crown corporation has asked Canadians to be on guard for telltale signs of a phishing scam or fraud attempt, including poor grammar, imagery inconsistent with Canada Post logos or a tracking number at odds with its standard format.
A phishing scam refers to a message that appears to be from a well-known source and asks for personal information in order to invade a person's accounts.
The Better Business Bureau similarly cautioned consumers when the strike kicked off.
"Watch out for fake package delivery offers during Canada’s postal strike," the non-profit said in a release last month.
It advised potential victims to verify delivery services, avoid unsolicited shipment offers from little-known companies and check for accreditation by the bureau before selecting a service.
It also noted that scammers may send false messages that claim to be from Canada Post or another carrier, asking for payment for undelivered items or offering "priority service."
"Do not click on links in unsolicited emails or texts. Instead, visit the official website of the courier service for updates," the bureau said.
Canada Post recommends customers contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre if they receive a suspicious email, text or call related to the postal service.
Timothy Byrnes said scams invoke not just nationally recognized brands but also companies like his own, the Montreal-based courier service Jet Worldwide.
"The scam thing is huge," he said. "They'll say, 'Hey, we have (the package), it's with Jet Worldwide right now. Once you send the money, we'll instruct Jet Worldwide to ship it.'"
One text message blasted out over the weekend claiming to be from the U.S. Postal Service stated that a parcel was "temporarily detained" because of an "invalid zip code." The message invites receivers to clear the package by clicking on a link. The site, which vaguely resembles that of the postal service, then asks visitors to enter their credit card number and "expire date" in order to pay "some service fees."
Multiple web browsers flagged the site, warning of phishing threats that attempt to steal personal and financial information.
"Always verify where it's coming from," Howell said.
"Did you order something that cost $10,000? Just because it says that you did does not necessarily mean that you did."
Common sense and awareness of recent purchases can go a long way.
"I got a text message two days ago saying that my RBC account was locked out. Well, I don't have an RBC account, so there's no reason for me to click on that," she said.
Ironically, consumers' knowledge of current events, such as strikes and stranded packages, can also be used against them by swindlers.
"They feed off of heightened awareness," she said.
"Take a step back. Don’t click, don’t do anything. Verify sources."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2024.
Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press