Chloe D’Agostini was in a coworking cafe while living abroad when someone walked in, sat down next to her and discreetly stole her wallet from her bag.
Posted at 2:14 p.m.
The 30-year-old from Toronto says she didn’t notice her wallet missing until 20 minutes later as she was packing her bag to meet a friend for dinner. Security camera footage from the cafe later confirmed the theft.
Within 30 minutes, thousands of dollars had been accumulated on various credit cards.
Mme D’Agostini then received a phone call from someone claiming to be from Apple stating that she had noticed suspicious activity with her Apple ID and asked if she could download some software so they could help her. After a few minutes, M.me D’Agostini thought the call was suspicious and hung up. Later, she called Apple, who explained that they don’t call without an appointment.
While theft and fraud happen everywhere, experiencing it while traveling means those affected could spend more time on the phone than soaking up the sun at the beach, and it’s not possible to go to his bank branch to solve the problem in person. In other cases, it’s possible to be stuck with an online travel scam before you even take off.
In TransUnion’s latest Fraud Report released in May, data shows that travel saw a 59.9% growth in digital fraud attempts for transactions originating in Canada and 13.3% globally.
The increase in digital fraud in this area can be attributed to the economy shifting to pre-pandemic levels, particularly in the travel industry.
“Canadians have started to feel more comfortable with the idea of traveling again. Fraudsters have understood this and have directed their attention to the peak of activity in this sector,” explains Ted Trush, director of Solutions Consulting at TransUnion Canada.
Examples of digital fraud in this industry include consumers who travel and have their credit card stolen in an attempt to make fraudulent expenses. Digital travel fraud also affects consumers directly on the web or on their mobile, for example when encountering fake travel agents or fake hotel websites.
“Essentially, fraudsters move to where the money is. For example, mobile app traffic has grown steadily over the past decade, so fraudsters tend to focus their attention there. When chip and PIN were introduced to credit cards, fraudsters turned to online transactions because they were less secure,” adds Trush.
He advises traveling Canadians to make sure they only provide banking information to legitimate businesses and websites.
Trush also recommends consumers read review sites for other customer comments or complaints as well as research flight or accommodation prices to watch for anomalies such as implausible discounts.
“Consumers are also encouraged to be mindful of emails that seem incongruous, as phishing attacks continue to be reported most often when it comes to scammers obtaining private and personal information. “, he specifies.
Caval Olson-Lepage, team manager at Affinity Credit Union, adds that every time you get an email or a text, you should ask yourself, “Do I expect this? And is it from a legitimate source? »
“I would be very careful before clicking on links in an email. I prefer to search for the legitimate website and search for this information,” she says.
Apple would not comment on the specific case of Mme D’Agostini, but the company’s website includes a warning about unexpected messages or requests for personal information: “It’s safest to assume this is a scam and, if so, communicate directly with the company in question”.
Mme Olson-Lepage also cautions against using public wi-fi during financial transactions, which might happen more when someone is traveling than when they’re at home or at work. She recommends setting up a virtual private network (VPN) before traveling to hide your online activity. Another option is to purchase an international data plan from your provider to avoid using wi-fi.
When someone thinks they’ve been defrauded or your information has been compromised, Mme Olson-Lepage advises contacting his financial institutions immediately.
Mr. Trush adds that TransUnion offers customers the option of adding a warning of potential or confirmed fraud to their credit file.
“This notifies creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity before deciding to extend credit and provides the creditor with a contact phone number,” he explains.
Although M.me D’Agostini was able to have his credit cards shipped, a new RBC debit card had to be shipped by regular mail. It took three months for the card to arrive, and Mme D’Agostini says there was no follow-up.
“Things like this are stressful when you’re under pressure and you need access to money,” says the Torontonian.
She said calling the bank was also frustrating because of the long wait times.
An RBC spokesperson says once a new card is requested, RBC processes the request and the card is sent via Canada Post. Processing time is usually over the next business day, but delivery is dependent on Canada Post.
Mme D’Agostini was not held responsible for any of the fraudulent charges.
His advice is to avoid carrying multiple credit cards in your wallet so that all of your accounts don’t get blocked if your wallet goes missing.