The Canadian Bankers Association and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police today issued a reminder to Canadians to use caution when they receive unsolicited e-mail that asks them to reveal personal or financial information.

Known as e-mail fraud, phishing or brand spoofing, these fraudulent spam e-mails are sent out randomly to thousands of recipients at once, whether or not they are customers of the organization being spoofed.

“We have seen an increase in these fraudulent spam e-mails, so we wanted to remind people that a bank would never send an e-mail to customers asking them to verify their personal information,” said Caroline Hubberstey, director of public and community affairs at the CBA. “One of the best ways to prevent e-mail fraud is to ensure that people know what to look for and that they can identify these e-mails for what they are: a scam.”

“We recommend that consumers use a healthy dose of skepticism when they receive any unsolicited e-mail, particularly if they are asked to reveal personal or financial information. Legitimate companies normally don’t do that,” said Sergeant Michel Haché, identity theft coordinator, commercial crime branch of the RCMP.

“If you do receive one of these e-mails, report it to the organization being spoofed and to law enforcement through PhoneBusters and Reporting Economic Crime On-Line. After that, delete the e-mail.”