Phishing. Have You Been Caught In An Email Scam?

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Phishing scams can affect us all. Make sure you know how to protect yourself from them.

What is phishing? 

Phishing is a cybercrime that uses social engineering techniques to entice you to share personal data, click a link in an email, download a file or open a malicious attachment.   

Tips for detecting phishing emails 

Fortunately, your online-fraud education is a scammer’s weakness. Be proactive when you receive an email and be sure to: 

• Verify the sender. Exercise caution when receiving an email from a sender you don’t know or haven’t heard from in a while. Hover over the “From” email address to ensure it matches the sender’s displayed email or name. 
• Look for poor choices in wording, phrasing, or spelling. 
• Hover over all links to see where they are directing you. If the link doesn’t match the sender or where you were expecting to go, assume it is malicious and don’t click it. 
• The subject line or email pertains to “Urgent Matter” or calls an immediate response. Phishing emails use this messaging to provoke fear and other emotions in order to get the receiver to click.  
• If an email includes a business name, telephone number, or website link, verify these items legitimacy by searching for the official number or website in a search engine. 
• Do not respond if the sender is seeking personal information, such as login information to a website or account.  Reputable businesses and public agencies will not ask you for personal information in an email. 

I received a phishing email. What do I do? 

• Don’t reply to the sender’s email or any related emails. 
• Don’t click any links, especially those that urge it is a time-sensitive matter. 
• Report the phishing email in your email platform. Often email platforms have this next to the reply button, or is a button that says, “Report Message.” 
• Report the phishing email to any relevant parties.  

What should I do if I responded to a phishing email or clicked a link? 

No matter how prepared you may be, you’re only human, and mistakes happen. To reduce any losses:  

• Update your computer’s security software. 
• Change all your passwords immediately. Try and use more complex passwords containing symbols, and both upper- and lower-case letters. 
• Report the attack to relevant parties: 
• If it’s an email on your wcgwave account, report the incident by forwarding the suspicious email to support@westmancom.com 
• Report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
• This also includes your email provider, financial institutions, and other organizations containing personal information.  

Your Friends at WCG: 

How can I detect a phishing email pretending to be Westman Communications Group (WCG)? 

• WCG will never send a request for your personal or account information to your @wcgwave.ca email account or any other email account. 
• The email’s domain (the part after “@”) does not match the name in the email. WCG’s domain is @westmancom.com. 

What should I do if I’ve received a phishing email pretending to WCG? 

• If you are not confident that an email you received came from WCG or one of our departments, DO NOT respond to the email or click on any email message links. Instead, navigate directly to the WCG site or call our Customer Support Team at 204-725-4300. 
• Report the incident by forwarding the suspicious email to support@westmancom.com 

Stay vigilant 

While online users, like yourself, are becoming more aware of potential online threats, hackers are always finding new ways to trick us.  

With an increase in phishing emails and other digital fraudulent activities, it helps to understand and detect potential scams. Be prepared. It is your best defence against online scammers.  
 

Not sure if you’re safe online? Take the Government of Canada’s Test HERE!

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