The Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) is calling on the population to be vigilant in connection with a new series of fraudulent messages promising false reimbursements to users.
” Dear Customer. We noticed an additional amount charged in your last invoice. We are in the process of rectifying this error by reimbursing you the excess amount,” we read in a text message sent to several Quebecers in recent days.
The Press also received this message. The fraudsters then invite the recipient to click on a link to obtain their dues, in order to steal banking or even personal information.
On X, Tuesday, the SAAQ reminded citizens who may have received this type of solicitation that it is a fraudulent message. “Please know that we never communicate with our customers by text message,” assured the government body, inviting concerned customers to make a report.
“Our computer security and investigation services are informed of the situation and steps are being taken, in particular to close the malicious site,” the SAAQ said Tuesday by email, saying it was unable to determine how many people were affected by this affair.
This is also not the first time that scams have used the image of the car insurance company. This recommends simply deleting the text, without ever trying to follow up on it.
Recently, last year, when the SAAQ was plunged into a digital crisis with its transition to SAAQclic, fraudsters had also sent messages promising a “credit” available to compensate for delays, queues and technical problems.
In late November, a survey from payment processing company Interac revealed that identity theft is one of the most common financial scams in Canada. According to the report, 42% of respondents said they had encountered scammers posing as representatives of official government institutions.