Published October 7, 2024 • 4 Min Read
Although there are some exceptions, you often can’t recover your money if you fall for a scam. There’s also no way to take back any personal information that you shared with fraudsters once it’s out in the public domain. But there are steps you can take to help protect you from further fraud and prevent others from becoming victims.
One of the reasons fraudsters are so successful in their scams today is that once money or information is shared online, it’s immediately out of your control and difficult to recover. That’s why taking steps to prevent fraud and to protect yourself and your loved ones is so important. If you’ve been a victim of fraud, there are important steps you can take to help mitigate the impact to yourself and protect people within your network – and beyond – from getting targeted from the fraudsters that reached out.
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Report the scam and scammer to fraud reporting agencies
If you’re in Canada, you can report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre via the Fraud Reporting System. If the scam occurred in the U.S., you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online.
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Report the incident to other relevant parties
Depending on where and how the scam occurred, it’s wise to contact any other organizations involved.
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If it was a scam initiated through social media, contact the social media platform to let them know of the incident. For example, to report a scammer on Facebook, click the three dots (…) at the top right of any post, select ‘Find support or report post’.
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If you were contacted by a scammer pretending to be your bank, contact your bank to let them know that the scam exists, so they can raise awareness with their clients.
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If you experienced a scam with a delivery service, email provider or phone carrier, let them know what happened. You can also file a police report, which might help with recovering your identity or lost funds.
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Scan your devices
If you clicked on a link or attachment, there’s a chance the scammer tried to instal malware on your device. It’s a good idea to run an antivirus scan to check.
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If you have an Android device, you can download antivirus from the Google Play app store and run a scan. If the antivirus finds anything, it may prompt you to quarantine, block or delete the infected files.
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If you’re using a Mac, the Activity Monitor tool will show you everything you’re running. If you find a program you don’t know, it might be malware (to do this, go to Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor).
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Change your passwords
If you use the same password for multiple accounts, you’ll want to change any relevant passwords immediately. This is a great opportunity to create stronger passwords – use these 10 easy tips to boost your password game.
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Lock down your credit
If you shared personal information with the scammer, one of the bigger risks is they could use that data for identity theft purposes. It’s therefore recommended to place a fraud alert on your credit report. This will alert creditors and other credit bureaus that you may be a victim of identity theft or fraud. These alerts can help keep someone else from opening an account using your information.
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Lock your credit card
If you inadvertently provided a scammer with your credit card or debit card information, you can immediately lock your card and then call the bank to cancel it. This will prevent fraudsters from using your credit card for unauthorized purchases.
If you’re an RBC client and have been a victim of fraud, connect with us to report the fraud right away. We are here to help.
This article is intended as general information only and is not to be relied upon as constituting legal, financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. Information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the authors as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates.
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