Chloe D’Agostini was at a co-working cafe while living abroad when someone walked in, sat down next to her and discreetly stole her wallet from her bag.
The 30-year-old woman from Toronto said she didn’t realize her wallet was missing until 20 minutes later, when she was packing her bag to meet a friend for lunch. Security camera footage from the café later confirmed the robbery.
In a matter of 30 minutes, thousands of dollars were accumulated on different credit cards.
D’Agostini then received a phone call from someone claiming to be from Apple telling him they had noticed suspicious activity with his Apple ID and asking if he could download the software so they could help. After a few minutes, D’Agostini thought the call was suspicious and hung up. He later called Apple, who explained that they don’t call without an appointment booked.
While theft and fraud happen everywhere, the challenge of experiencing it while traveling is that you may spend more time on the phone than sunbathing on the beach, and you can’t visit your bank branch to solve it in person. In other cases, you may be stuck dealing with an online travel scam before you even take off.
In TransUnion’s latest fraud report released in May, data shows travel and industry saw a 59.9% growth in digital fraud attempts for transactions originating from Canada and 13.3% globally.
The increase in digital travel fraud can be attributed to the economy moving towards pre-pandemic levels, specifically in the travel industry.
“Canadians began to feel more comfortable with the idea of traveling again and scammers took notice and turned their attention to the increased activity in this sector,” said Ted Trush, director of solutions consulting at TransUnion Canada.
Examples of digital fraud in this sector include consumers traveling and having their credit cards stolen in order to make fraudulent charges. Digital travel fraud also affects consumers directly on the web or mobile devices, for example through encounters with fake travel agents or hotel websites.
“Essentially, scammers move to where the money is. For example, mobile app traffic has grown steadily over the last decade, so scammers tend to focus their attention there. When chip and pin was introduced in credit cards, fraudsters moved online. transactions because it was less protected,” Trush said.
It advises traveling Canadians to make sure they only provide banking information to legitimate businesses and websites.
Trush also advises consumers to read review sites for comments or complaints from other customers, as well as research flight or accommodation prices and be on the lookout for anomalies such as extreme discounts.
“Consumers are also encouraged to be vigilant when it comes to emails that seem out of place, as phishing attacks continue to be reported more frequently when it comes to scammers obtaining private and personal information,” he said.
Caval Olson-Lepage, Advisory Team Leader, Wealth at Affinity Credit Union, said every time you receive an email or text, you need to ask yourself, “Am I expecting this? And is it from a legitimate source?”
“I would be very cautious about clicking on links in an email. I would rather go to the legitimate website and look for that information and then click on a link,” he said.
Apple did not comment on D’Agostini’s specific case, but the company’s website includes a warning about unexpected messages or requests for personal information: “It’s safer to assume this is a scam and contact that company directly if necessary.” “.
Olson-Lepage also warns against using public Wi-Fi for financial transactions, which can happen more when someone is traveling than at home or work. She recommends setting up a virtual private network (VPN) before you travel to hide your online activity. Another option is to buy an international data plan from your provider so you can avoid using Wi-Fi.
If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud or your information has been compromised, Olson-Lepage said to contact your financial institutions immediately.
Trush added that TransUnion offers customers the ability to add a potential or confirmed fraud warning to their credit file.
“This advises creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity before deciding to extend credit and provides the creditor with a contact phone number,” it said.
While D’Agostini was able to speed up his credit cards, a new RBC debit card had to be sent via regular mail. The card took three months to arrive, and D’Agostini said there was no follow-up.
“Things like this are stressful when you’re under pressure and need to access money,” D’Agostini said.
She said calling the bank on the phone was also frustrating due to long wait times.
An RBC spokesman said that once a new card is applied for, RBC processes the application and the card is sent via Canada Post. Processing time is usually completed the next business day, but delivery is ultimately up to Canada Post.
D’Agostini was not held responsible for any of the fraudulent charges.
His advice to others is to avoid carrying multiple credit cards in your wallet at once so that all of your accounts are not locked out if your wallet is lost.