Advertorial: Nine out of 10 Canadians are taking action to protect themselves against fraud

Worried about fraud, Canadians are taking proactive steps to protect themselves. According to the TD Canada Trust Fraud Prevention Month Poll, more than 90% of Canadians are taking preventive measures to avoid becoming a victim of fraud, from shredding documents (73%) to shielding their Personal Identification Number (PIN) (62%).

“It is very encouraging to see so many Canadians take action to help protect themselves,” says Andrea Phillips, Vice President, Payments, TD Canada Trust. “Financial institutions have sophisticated monitoring and detection tools in place and work closely with law enforcement to help protect their customers from fraud. Canadians can take complementary steps to greatly reduce their risk by becoming aware and taking precautions to protect themselves.”

The TD Canada Trust Fraud Prevention Month Poll revealed that other actions taken by Canadians to prevent fraud include speaking with their bank about reducing their daily bank card withdrawal limit (12%) and changing their PIN every couple of months (6%).

While 82% of Canadians are concerned about fraud and 92% say they take some action to protect themselves, the poll showed that some people are engaging in risky behaviour: 21% of Canadians have sent their credit card number in emails, 10% have told someone their debit card PIN and 7% have carried their PIN in their wallet.

“Despite the overwhelming number of Canadians who are taking preventive action, there is still room for improvement. TD Canada Trust is committed to educating people to help replace some risky habits with secure ones,” says Phillips.

In support of Fraud Prevention Month, TD Canada Trust developed the following quiz to help Canadians determine how fraud savvy they are and learn what they can do to help protect themselves.

TD Canada Trust Fraud Prevention Quiz:

1) What does a criminal need to make a copy of your card and access your account?

a. The card — my Personal Identification Number (PIN) is on the stripe
b. My PIN -— they can use a blank card
c. The card and my PIN together

2) A customer’s PIN is located on the magnetic strip on their card

a. True
b. False

3) How often should you cover the key pad when you enter your PIN?

a. Always
b. Sometimes
c. Never

4) What is Phishing?

a. Looking over someone’s shoulder at an ABM to learn their PIN
b. A scam done over the phone or via email to obtain personal and financial information
c. Rifling through the garbage to look for discarded receipts and statements

5) A salesperson asks you for your PIN, saying their new keypad doesn’t stretch that far and they have to enter it themselves. You:

a. Give them your PIN and debit card
b. Decline to give them your PIN but continue your transaction and move around the counter to enter your PIN yourself
c. Leave and contact your financial institution

6) How often should you check your banking and credit card statements for discrepancies?

a. Always
b. Often
c. Never

7) You do your banking online, so when you receive your statement in the mail you should:

a. Throw it away without opening it
b. Read it and put it in the recycling
c. Read it and shred it

8) How secure should you be with your debit and credit cards?

a. Fairly secure — don’t loan them to strangers but it’s OK if family and friends borrow them
b. Don’t sweat it. If someone steals them you will be reimbursed
c. Treat them like cash and know where they are at all times

9) You go to pay for lunch and your credit card is gone. What should you do?

a. Call your credit card company immediately to report it lost
b. Dine and dash
c. Drop by your bank branch a few days later to report it missing

10) What should you do if you receive an email from your financial institution asking for your banking information?

a. Enter the information
b. Delete it because your financial institution would never ask for your banking information via email
c. Contact the email sender to find out more

11) What should you do with expired identification and credit cards?

a. Throw them away
b. Save them because you like the way you look in the photo
c. Shred them

12. You sell something online to a stranger who sends you a check for too much and asks you to wire the difference. You should:

a. Do as they ask because you trust the selling site
b. Do as they ask because if the cheque’s no good your bank will reimburse you
c. Cancel the transaction and rip up the cheque

Give yourself 2 points for every right answer: 1.c) 2.b) 3.a) 4.b) 5.c) 6.a) 7.c) 8.c) 9.a) 10.b) 11.c) 12.c)

If you scored 20-24: You run a tight ship — your information is pretty safe

• You have a place for everything and everything is in its place so you know almost instantly if something is missing or not right. Now, while you may not apply this strategy to every aspect of your life (we know about your junk drawer), you know that your debit and credit card is safest with you and you know how to keep them from getting into the wrong hands.
• Not only do you shield your PIN during the transaction but you take your transaction record and destroy it when you no longer need it. Remember to do the same with any expired identification or personal papers you no longer need.
• You probably don’t have much to worry about since fraudsters tend to pick on easy targets. You are very careful and aware of how to protect yourself, so keep up the good behaviour.

If you scored 14-18: You know the basics, but there is more you can do to protect yourself

• Take extra precautions to protect your personal information. Maybe you don’t share your PIN with anyone — but are you sure your PIN is a number that would be hard to guess? Avoid using your birthday or part of your phone number.
• Since e-mail isn’t always secure, you know better than to send private information, like your credit card number, this way — but remember, not all websites are secure either.
• Make sure you are shopping on a secure website or look for merchants who use added security features, like Verified by Visa, before entering your credit card information.
• Also, shred your personal information. There is only one of you, let’s keep it that way.

If you scored under 14: Be careful — you’re sharing too much!

• Take the time to protect what is important — your identity, your money and yourself. Don’t be so carefree with personal information. Never lend your cards to anyone, or give anyone your PIN. Even better, memorize your PIN so you don’t need to write it down. And, never carry your PIN with your wallet.
• Unless you initiated the call, do not provide your credit card number over the phone.
• Though email is a convenient way to contact someone, your financial institution will never ask you to verify your banking information that way. And remember, that king from a far off land asking you to share your bank account information is not actually going to make you rich.

TD CANADA TRUST FRAUD PREVENTION MONTH POLL

The TD Canada Trust Fraud Prevention Month Poll, conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion, a division of Vision Critical, surveyed adult Canadians with debit and credit cards to gain a better understanding of Canadians’ concerns over fraud. The total sample size includes 1,059 working Canadians with polling completed February 9-11, 2010.