Phishing and fraud prevention

Phishing is a type of fraud carried out by email or text message that aims to trick you into revealing personal information or clicking on a malicious link.

Today, these scams are more convincing than ever. With artificial intelligence, fraudsters can mimic official communications, create highly credible fake login pages, imitate voices or trusted individuals, and personalize their messages using information found online.

Scams are no longer easy to spot with the naked eye. Even if everything looks real, it is important to stay vigilant.

How to recognize a fraudulent email or text message

Be cautious of messages that:

• create a sense of urgency to pressure you into acting quickly without thinking
• seem unusual or contain spelling mistakes
• mention a made-up issue, such as a late payment, updating your information, receiving a package, or an unauthorized purchase
• ask for confidential information
• redirect you to a suspicious website

Stay alert! If you have the slightest doubt about the validity of an email with the Fonds de solidarité FTQ's logo and colours or a text message purporting to be from the Fonds, do not click on any links or open any attachments.

Go instead to the Fonds' official website at https://www.fondsftq.com. From there, you can safely access your online account.

How to protect yourself

Adopt these good habits to reduce your risk:

• NEVER provide identifiable confidential information (e.g. social insurance number, date of birth, password, etc.) by email or text message.
• Move your cursor over the hyperlink (but don't click on it) to check that the address is legitimate and belongs to the sender's company (beware of similar addresses).
• Check that the sender's email address is familiar and legitimate, especially the part after the "@". Is it a personal or company address?
• Do not respond to emails or text messages requesting urgent or immediate actions and warning of serious consequences if you don't respond.
• For emails, protect your computer with an antivirus software, a spyware filter and a spam filter.
• Do not click on any links in a suspicious email or text message. Enter instead the Fonds' official website address in your Internet browser (https://www.fondsftq.com).

Secure your email

Your email address is often the main entry point for fraudsters. To protect access to your inbox:

• Use a unique, strong password.
• Enable two-factor authentication.
• Monitor for any unusual activity.

What to do if you are a victim of phishing?

If you receive a fraudulent email or text message supposedly sent on behalf of the Fonds:

• Contact the Saving Services who can confirm if this is an official communication from the Fonds de Solidarité FTQ.
• Then delete the email or text message.

If you have provided confidential information, we recommend that you call credit agencies such as Equifax and TransUnion, so that they can add a note to your file alerting credit providers that you may have been a victim of fraudulent activity.

We look after your savings. You can protect them too by staying vigilant. If in doubt, don't click, don't share anything, and contact Saving Services directly.