I just received a text purporting to be from Scotiabank (Bank of Nova Scotia) telling me my access card “Has Been Disabled As Of New Security Improvements” (that’s exactly as it was written). I was then asked to reply with “R” to deal with the matter.
I haven’t dealt with this bank in over 20 years so obviously I wasn’t worried. And, the area code was 289, which is one of the area codes for the part of Ontario surrounding Toronto and unlikely to be associated with Scotiabank in any fashion. I also felt the unusual use of capitalisation and irregular use of bold text was a clear sign someone was fishing.
Being slightly bored, I decided to see what they would say if I replied with something other than the R they requested. I carefully crafted this response: Oh no! Something I don’t have has been disabled! What shall I do?? Notice that the letter “r” does not appear anywhere in that comment.
Didn’t matter. Immediately upon sending this I was sent a link again claiming to be from Scotiabank to allow me to verify my information. At that point I sat down to write this blog, and now that I’ve finished, I’ll delete the text right after I call Scotiabank and report this.
If you ever receive a text message claiming to be from a bank that states your access card or account has been frozen or disabled, don’t just accept it. If it is from a bank you’ve never dealt with, just delete it. If it purports to be from the bank you do deal with, again don’t blindly accept the message. Check with your usual branch if this is during regular business hours. If it is later in the day, there is a telephone number on the back of your access card. Call them and report the attempted fraud.
Enjoy your day and remember to hug an artist, we need love too.
Cat.
Catseyeview 