Is the email I received a scam?

Every day, we receive reports of email scams. While email is a tool used by thousands of legitimate businesses, there are also thousands of fraudsters who use it to steal money, goods, and information from honest people.

The best ways to avoid becoming a victim of email fraud are:

• DON’T open the email or any attached files
• DON’T respond to the sender
• DON’T send money or personal information, even if it looks official or sounds urgent
• DO verify the sender and/or request is legitimate by calling the business or individual sending the email. Be sure to use a published phone number, and not any numbers listed in the email.
• DO report the email to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
• DO contact police if you have been defrauded or suffered loss.

For information on email scams, computer viruses, and other fraudulent activity that Wightman is aware of, click here.

For more general information on email fraud, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre email scams page and check out this article.