Ontario man who almost fell for text scam issues warning to others

An Ontario man thought he got some good news when he received a text message offering a $30 gift for being a loyal Giant Tiger customer.

"I do go to that store so I clicked on the link and it said it was a customer appreciation award they were going to give people," Mark Martin, of Simcoe, Ont., told CTV News Toronto.

When Martin clicked on the text's link, he said it instructed him to sign into his bank account and provide his banking details first before he could receive the e-transfer.

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The link took him to a website with a list of Canadian banks, including his. That's when Martin said he became concerned and realized it was a scam.

"The banking page was identical to my bank, but when they get down to asking for your banking information and personal information that was a red flag right there," said Martin.

A Giant Tiger spokesperson confirmed to CTV News Toronto that it is aware of fraudulent scams impersonating itself and other trusted retail brands. 

"I want to stress that the message that this customer received is not from Giant Tiger," the statement reads.

"This message that falsely claims to be from our brand asks customers for banking information, which Giant Tiger would never ask customers to provide. Legitimate promotions, contests and offers from Giant Tiger will always be cross-posted to our website. These types of scams are, unfortunately, becoming more common as bad actors attempt to use the names of longstanding and trusted brands to lure the recipients into a false sense of security."

Cybersecurity experts say criminals are flooding inboxes with scam messages impersonating banks, courier companies, Canada Post, Highway 407 ETR and Revenue Canada.

Nick Biasini, the head of outreach with Cisco Talos, a cybersecurity company, said everyone needs to be extremely cautious when they receive unsolicited texts and emails.

"There are an awful lot of strange texts messages circulating out there and they are also tied to scam activity," said Biasini.

Scammers hope to gain access to personal information or banking details this way to either hack into bank accounts or steal someone's identity.

"If you get an email for a deal that seems impossible or a text that seems too good to be true, it most definitely is too good to be true and there are bad guys behind it trying to do something nefarious," said Biasini.

To protect yourself, don't click on unsolicited links, guard your information carefully, don't enter contests that ask for your personal information, don't store passwords in your web browser and use two-factor authentication when possible.

Martin is glad he didn't get caught in the scam and wanted to warn others.

"If you're not expecting (a text message), just dump it and block it. It's not worth it," said Martin.

Biasini said criminals also use QR codes to hack into your phone or computer. In these instances, someone might receive a text with what appears to be an offer from a legitimate business, but when they scan the QR code, it sends them to a malicious website.