It’s news we hope you don’t ever have to use, but always good to know. Across Canada, we’re seeing a rise in scams targeting organizations of all sizes, from large government departments to small community groups. We’re very lucky to have excellent cyber security measures but we recognize criminals are always looking for ways to target people and one day that could mean a scammer trying to impersonate us or other local charities.
Because of this, we wanted to be proactive and make sure all our donors know the signs of a scam. This information is taken directly from the CRA:
“Scammers can use artificial intelligence to create realistic messages, images and websites. They often imitate government services or officials in order to gain access to your personal and financial information. It may be a scam if someone:
- demands immediate payment
- uses threatening language
- sends you a link and asks you to click on it
- requests a payment to release or recover funds
- asks for personal or financial information
- requests payment by cryptocurrency or gift cards
“Scammers can use artificial intelligence to create realistic messages, images and websites. They often imitate government services or officials in order to gain access to your personal and financial information. It may be a scam if someone:
- demands immediate payment
- uses threatening language
- sends you a link and asks you to click on it
- requests a payment to release or recover funds
- asks for personal or financial information
- requests payment by cryptocurrency or gift cards
Take a minute to ask yourself why you are being contacted or asked to do something.”
Note - we will never initiate a call to you asking for bank information or credit card information from donors or fund advisors, and we will never ask for any 2-factor authentication codes.
If you ever are unsure about a call you receive from us, hang up and contact us directly. Use the phone number on our business cards or call our info line at (306) 751-4756 and a staff member will direct your call. You are also welcome to come to our office in Regina or book a face-to-face meeting.