Scam emails aimed at SaskTel customers are making the rounds in the province.
Some of the scam messages that have been reported to SaskTel include subjects such as “we are having difficulty collecting the amount of the last bill” or “this message requires attention,” and may have attachments or links asking people to update their payment information.
Greg Jacobs, external communications manager with SaskTel, said they were made aware of the scam emails early this week. “I think the first reports we received of it was about midday Monday.”
Jacobs offers advice for those who may be receiving the emails, asking that customers report them to phishing@sasktel.net .
“That helps us track this type of activity, but then it also helps us work with other partners to have these sites shut down,” he explained.
“We aren’t a law enforcement agency, so we don’t have a lot of levels of recourse other than to make our customers aware of these situations when they come up, and to work with others to have these sites shut down if possible.”
He adds that once it’s been reported, you should immediately delete the email to avoid accidentally clicking on links or downloading attachments.
One way to tell that it is not an e-mail from SaskTel is that the sender’s email does not end in sasktel.com. “We would never send our customers an email from another provider’s email address.”
If an email is asking for a change in payment information by clicking on a link or opening an attachment, it should be viewed with suspicion, and checking with a business directly is advised.
Contact information on possible scam emails should not be used, and people should search for legitimate business information to get in touch. “Our contact information is quite easy to remember – it's 1 800 SASKTEL would get you into our call centre,” said Jacobs.
You can find more information on scams on the SaskTel website.
For more resources on scams, you can visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.