Fraudsters cashing in on pandemic, committee told

The Canadian Anti Fraud Centre has received almost 1000 complaints about fraud attempts related to COVID-19 since the beginning of March, the RCMP’s assistant commissioner of federal policing criminal operations Eric Slinn told a Parliamentary committee Wednesday. During an appearance at the House industry committee, which is studying the Canadian response to the pandemic, Slinn said “criminals are actively exploiting fear, uncertainty and doubt around the pandemic.” “We know this because the CAFC has seen a drastic increase in the reporting of fraud from January to April, compared to the same period last year,” Slinn told MPs. Fraud attempts included efforts to install malware and phishing attempts, where criminals use email or text messages, pretending to be linked to the Canadian Emergency Response Benefits process, to gain personal information that they could then use to impersonate them and gain access to banking accounts, Slinn said. “However the biggest monetary losses stem from the fraudulent sale of goods related to COVID-19, such as masks, testing equipment or miracle cures,” Slinn told the committee. Slinn said the RCMP had launched a program specific to COVID-19 fraud in March and was working with partners and stakeholders inside and outside Canada to exchange intelligence and coordinate enforcement efforts related to the pandemic. According to the CAFC’s website, 766 reports of COVID-19 related fraud were lodged between March 6 and May 1, with 188 victims losing a combined $1.2 million. Fraud not related to COVID-19 had also continued to escalate during the pandemic, Slinn said, “as these heartless criminal groups continue to target human and institutional vulnerabilities. Scott Jones, head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, told the committee Canadians were naturally feeling fearful and stressed about the pandemic, and those heightened emotions could be exploited online. “COVID has presented cyber criminals and fraudsters with an effective lure to encourage victims to visit fake sites, open email attachments and click on website links,” Jones said. Those links, emails and messages frequently purported to be from health officials or federal government representatives, Jones said. The cyber centre had contributed to the removal of websites and maintained the integrity of important websites including the CERB web application, Jones said. Asked by Conservative MP Tako Van Popta about his views on the adoption of STIR/SHAKEN verification protocol to combat fraudulent activity, Nuance Communications fraud examiner Simon Marchand said it was a “useful” tool. “I don’t think we can afford not to have this additional layer of security and validation,” Marchand said, according to a translation from French. The CRTC has set a deadline of September this year for telecom companies to put the system in place, though the companies have united in asking the CRTC to delay that date. Marchand said the CRTC should be firm and demand the deployment of STIR/SHAKEN as quickly as possible. “Our networks are obsolete and won’t permit 100 per cent identification through STIR/SHAKEN but I think we should do what we can and the telecommunication lobby mustn't obtain a postponement until 2021, it would be an error in my mind,” Marchand said. -- With reporting by Adam Langenberg at alangenberg@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Fraudsters cashing in on pandemic, committee told

News | May 20, 2020

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Fraudsters cashing in on pandemic, committee told

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