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Fraud Awareness
We take our members security very seriously and are committed to the highest standards of fraud prevention and identity protection. 
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Cybersecurity
Want to learn more about being safe online? 
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Scam Watch
Protect yourself by learning about a few of the scams circulating in the Lakeland.
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Protect Yourself
There are no typical victims of fraud and with today’s technology these creative scammers can be anywhere.
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Shopping Online
Many of us will be looking to buy gifts online this year and cyber criminals will be trying to steal your information or money.
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Watch out for Holiday Fraud

Keep the cheer alive and don’t let fraudsters steal your joy! The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) shares the most common holiday scams, so you can recognize, reject, report, and stay merry.

Here are some common fraudulent tactics to watch out for and how to recognize them.

Online Shopping & Counterfeit Good – Flashy brand-name products at unbelievable prices are often too good to be true. To safeguard your wallet and well-being, buy from reputable retailers. Do your research before making a purchase. Inferior/Counterfeit products are not only deceiving but could also pose significant health risks.

Shipping Frauds – Be cautious of unsolicited text messages or emails that seem to come from legitimate shipping companies, especially those urgently asking for your personal or payment details due to incomplete shipping information. Fraudsters may also claim delivery failures or say your packages are on hold for payment. In some cases, they may direct you to pay a fabricated shipping company, like the "North Pole Express."  Protect yourself and never share personal information unless you're certain of the source.

Gift Cards – Gift cards make for perfect presents, but don’t let yours be empty when you give it! If you’re buying gift cards in-store, inspect them carefully—compare them to others in stock and run your finger over the barcodes to check for tampering. When buying online, avoid resale or auction sites or make sure they are well known and reputable beforehand.  Be aware: legitimate businesses will never pressure you to pay with gift cards. Stay safe and shop wisely!

Donating – 'Tis the season of giving, but don’t let fraudsters take advantage of your generosity! Charity scams involve deceptive requests for donations to fake causes. Always ask for the charitable tax number and verify the organization’s registration with the Canada Revenue Agency's List of Charities or call 1-800-267-2384. When possible, donate directly to the charity to ensure your contribution reaches the right place.

Prize and Vacation Notifications – Dreaming of winning a car, $1M, or a free holiday getaway? Fraudsters may try to convince you that all you need to do is confirm your personal info and pay some fees to claim your prize. But remember, if you didn’t enter a contest, you didn’t win! Also, you can't win a lottery from another country without purchasing a ticket there. In Canada, any fees linked to a prize will be deducted from your total winnings. Be cautious—don’t let scammers steal your holiday cheer!

Interac e-Transfer Fraud

e-Transfer interception fraud occurs when money is being sent via Interac e-Transfer® from one’s bank account to another’s through the use of an email address or phone number. Fraudsters will intercept the online transaction and divert the money to a different bank account.

How to protect yourself
Fraudsters can intercept Interac e-Transfers by gaining access to the recipient's email account and either guessing or obtaining the answer to the security question. Whether you are the sender or the recipient of an Interac e-Transfer, it’s important that everyone plays a role in preventing fraud.

As the Sender:

  • Do: Create difficult and unique security questions that only you and the recipient will know.
  • Do: If necessary, only share the security question answer with the recipient over a secure method of communication (phone).

As the Recipient:

  • Do: Enroll in Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit to have funds automatically deposited without answering a security question.
  • Do: Create difficult and unique passwords to protect your accounts (email, social media).
  • Do Not: Include the security answer in your question.
  • Do Not: Share your security question answer over email, text or social media
  • Do Not: Reuse the same security question answer for multiple recipients
  • Do Not: Create account passwords that are easy to guess by anyone.
  • Do Not: Share your passwords with anyone.
  • Do Not: Suggest multiple senders use the same security question answer.


For more tips on protecting yourself from e-transfer fraud click here: Why sending money via email or text is secure - Interac

Recognize it. Report it. Stop it.

Lakeland Credit Union does our best to safeguard your interests, but you should also take precautions to protect your identity and your money.

Safety Precautions for Digital Banking

  • We will never ask you to provide your personal passwords, personal information numbers, sensitive personal information, or login information in an email.
  • Type our web address into your browser yourself instead of clicking on a link in an email or electronic message to navigate to our website.
  • When banking online, check the address of any pages that ask you to enter personal account information. Any legitimate digital banking site will begin with ‘https’ in the toolbar at the top of the page to indicate that the page is secure.
  • Look for the padlock found in the address bar. If the page is legitimate, by clicking on the padlock, you can view the security certificate details for the site. A fraudulent site will not have these details, or will not have the correct details.
  • Review your account activity on a regular basis to check for any transactions or activity that you don’t recognize.
  • Don’t send personal identification information over the internet. Hackers can easily retrieve sensitive data that is sent over an unsecured internet connection.
  • Try not to use your SIN as a form of identification. Use other identification whenever possible.
  • Be careful about what you throw out or recycle. An identity thief will pick through your garbage or recycling bins. Be sure to shred receipts, tax returns, financial statements or anything with personal or financial information


Report Fraud

If you think you have been a victim of identity theft or suspect your account has been compromised:

  • Report it to us immediately by calling 780-826-3377 or if after hours fill out the contact us form and we'll be in touch soon.

  • Contact local police and file a report about the fraud.

  • Contact Canada’s credit reporting agencies – Equifax and TransUnion - and have a fraud alert put on your credit file. This could help prevent someone else from taking out a loan or credit card in your name.

  • The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre also has a website full of tips to identify, prevent, and report all types of fraud.




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