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Practical guide

Protecting your number from text message scams

A parcel on hold, a refund to claim, a bank account “locked”: fraudulent messages imitate well-known organizations to get you to click or hand over a code. This guide covers the usual tricks, the warning signs and the steps that protect your number and your accounts.

Guides · Reviewed · 4 min read

The most common scams

  • The fake parcel: “Your delivery is on hold, confirm your address”, with a link asking for a small payment.
  • The fake refund or fine: a public body supposedly owes you money, or demands immediate payment.
  • The fake bank: a “security notice” that sends you to a page imitating your financial institution's.
  • The verification code: someone asks you to send back the code you just received. That code is used to take over one of your accounts.
  • The relative who “changed numbers” and needs money quickly.

Warning signs

A legitimate organization will never ask for a verification code or password by text.

  • Pressure: a very short deadline, a threat to close an account or take legal action.
  • A shortened link or a web address that looks almost like the real one.
  • A request for a code, password, PIN or card number.
  • An unknown sender who somehow knows your first name.
  • Payment requested in gift cards, cryptocurrency or a transfer to a stranger.

Good reflexes

  1. Don't click and don't reply, not even to say “stop”.
  2. Check through a channel you know: the official app, the website typed yourself or the number on the back of your card.
  3. Report the message. With most Canadian mobile carriers, you can forward an unwanted text to 7726 (SPAM); check with yours.
  4. Block the sender, then delete the message.

Protecting the number itself

Your number is often used to confirm your identity. A fraudster who takes control of it can receive your verification codes. A few steps lower that risk:

  • Never share a code you received by text, with anyone.
  • Ask your provider whether it offers a transfer PIN or password, and turn it on.
  • For important accounts, prefer an authenticator app or a passkey over text messages when possible.
  • Publish your personal number as little as possible; use a second number for ads and strangers.
  • If your phone suddenly loses service for no reason, contact your provider right away.

What about the National Do Not Call List?

Registering your number on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) reduces legitimate telemarketing calls. The CRTC points out, however, that fraudsters ignore it: you can receive fraudulent calls even if your number is registered.

If you were a victim

  1. Contact your financial institution right away if you gave banking information.
  2. Change the passwords of the affected accounts and turn on two-step verification.
  3. Tell your phone provider if you think someone tried to transfer your number.
  4. Report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501) and, if needed, to your police service.

Examples of messages to recognize

Fraudulent messages change form but often follow the same patterns. Here are made-up examples, typical of what people receive in Québec:

  • "Your parcel is on hold: a $1.99 delivery fee is due. Pay here." A real carrier doesn't ask for payment through a link in an unexpected text.
  • "The Revenue Agency owes you a refund. Confirm your banking information." Tax refunds are not claimed through a link in a text.
  • "Your bank account is locked. Call this number." Call the number on the back of your card instead.
  • "Hi, it's me, I changed my number. Can you send me money?" Check by calling the person at their old number.
  • "Sorry, wrong number…" followed by a friendly chat that leads, weeks later, to an investment or cryptocurrency pitch.

Text message phishing, step by step

Text message phishing (smishing) almost always tries to make you do one of three things: tap a link to a fake page that imitates a known site, call a fake customer service line, or reply with information. The fake page then asks for a password, a card number or a code received by text. That last point matters: a verification code proves that it is really you. No legitimate person will ask you to pass it on.

Fraudsters send messages in bulk, often from numbers that keep changing. Blocking one number helps little; the best protection is never to act on an unexpected message, and to go through the official site or app you already know.

Protecting the people around you

Seniors, newcomers and teenagers are often targeted, because fraudsters count on trust or fear. Talk about it simply: show examples, agree on a family rule (we never pay for anything from a text, we always check another way), and remind everyone that there is no shame in asking for help. In a business, a short training and a clear rule for payments and changes of banking details prevent many losses.

With MIMT

MIMT shows a “Likely spam” label on doubtful calls and texts, based on simple rules, on every plan. It is a label, not a block: you decide, and callbacks from emergency services always ring through. With your consent, AI can help assess an ambiguous text. See MIMT AI.