Phishing scam in Nova Scotia

by Natalie MacLellan on September 21, 2009

in Fraud Prevention

The Nova Scotia Securities Commission has recently been advised of a phishing scheme, possibly targeting clients of Assante Wealth Management. At least five Assante clients in Nova Scotia have received telephone calls from individuals purporting to be company representatives, from the telephone number: (600) 233-1234.

As of yet, we do not know if this scam is targeting Assante clients specifically or the general public.  Assante is unaware of any security breaches that may have lead to any confidential information being released.

Phishing is the criminally fraudulent act of fooling victims into releasing sensitive information such as account numbers, usernames, or passwords, by pretending to be someone you are not, or representing an institution the victim trusts. Phishing is usually carried out by telephone or email, with the scam artists claiming to represent a financial institution, online auction or merchant site, or popular social network.

Victims are asked to verify information such as addresses and account numbers, or to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are remarkably similar to the real site.

The term phishing is a play on fishing and refers to the use of bait to catch unsuspecting victims.

Related posts:

  1. Fraudulent website mimics regulators The Nova Scotia Securities Commission cautions investors about an organization...
  2. National investor study released – How does Nova Scotia compare? The 2009 CSA Investor Index finds that while Canadians express...
  3. Cold Calling Alert You’ve got to understand,” said the voice on the other...
  4. Investment fraud on the Internet The Internet is a quick and easy way for scam...
  5. Recovery Room Schemes As if being victimized by investment fraud once was not...

Share & Bookmark This Story!

{ 0 comments… add one now }

Leave a Comment

You can use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Previous post: Leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

Next post: Recovery Room Schemes