There are 3 common ways scammers reach out: by email (phishing), phone/voice (vishing) and text (smishing). Often, their goal is to trick you into doing or sharing something you shouldn’t, so that they can steal your money or identity.
Phishing
Phishers uses bogus email addresses, websites, or pop-up windows to get you to share your personal info, usually with an offer that seems too good to be true. Many times, they pretend to be companies you know and trust, like us.
If you receive a strange email from what appears to be Fido:
Don’t reply to it or forward it -- instead, take a screenshot of the email and forward it to internetabuse@fidomobile.ca. Ensure it includes your email address, the contents of the email and any website it asks you to visit. And don’t forget to include the header.
You won’t receive a response to the email, but we’ll definitely look into it and do what we can to identify the phisher.
**If you clicked on a link or responded to the email and later thought “Hey, that might have been a scam,” we strongly recommend you change all your passwords and PINs.
If you receive a strange email from another company:
Don’t click any links. Don’t open any attachments. Do report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. You can also call them at 1-888-495-8501.
Vishing
Vishers call and offer fake rate plans and incentives or invite you to complete surveys while asking you to “verify” your account information. But don’t be fooled — all these scammers want is your personal and/or financial info.
If you receive a suspicious call from someone who says they work for Fido:
Hang up. It’s that simple. If you’re uncomfortable hanging up on people, hear them out but don’t give them any information.
Do write down the phone number that appears on your call display, make notes about what the other person said during the call, and then call Fido to give us the details. We’ll take it from there.
** If you gave the caller info and think it may have been a scam, change your passwords and PINs immediately. **
If you’ve received a suspicious call from another company:
Don’t provide any personal info to the caller. Just report the call to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by email or phone 1-888-495-8501.
Smishing (SMS)
Smishers use text messages to scam you into giving up your personal or financial information, usually by inviting you to a visit a website or call a number. These can be difficult to identify given how little text there is, but if the tone of the text feels off, then it’s probably a fake.
The good news is that Fido uses sophisticated anti-spam software in our network to help protect you from SMS spammers. The software uses advanced threat detection algorithms to constantly hunt for and identify suspicious activity.
If you received a smishy text from “Fido”:
Don’t respond to it and don’t click any of the links in it. You can submit the spam message to be blocked by forwarding the text message to 7726. Not sure if you’ll remember it? 7726 spells out SPAM.
Note that only message content is considered for blocking, not the senders telephone number as those tend to change often. Once you’ve forwarded the message, you can safely delete it from your phone.
To forward from an Android device:
Press and hold the spam SMS message > Select the “forwarding” button/arrow > Send to 7726
To forward from iOS:
Press and hold the spam SMS message > Select more > Select messages > Select the “forward” arrow > Send to 7726
** If you accidentally clicked on a link or responded to the suspicious email and now you’re having second thoughts, you should log in to your Fido account and change your passwords and PINs. **
Have other concerns? You can report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by email or phone 1-888-495-8501.
Reporting identity theft
The RCMP takes phishing, vishing and smishing just as seriously as we do. They even have a squad dedicated to it. View their identity theft assistance guide.
Six ways to identify fraudulent information requests
1. Be wary of requests for personal information
Most legit businesses don’t use emails or pop-ups when gathering personal information like a bank account number. And they won’t direct you to a shady URL to enter your bank account info, either.
2. Watch for alarmists
If you get offered lottery-sized payouts for a little bit of information, or you’re threatened if you don’t share your information, it’s a scam.
3. Look for typos in URLs or email addresses
Scam artists will often register domains with minor variations on actual domain names, like www.ffido.ca
4. Misspellings or grammatical errors
Keep in mind that most reputable companies have editors and proofreaders check everything before it goes out.
5. Stay informed
There are a lot of sites where you can learn more about detecting fraud and keeping yourself safe. Here are some good ones to check out: