The Better Business Bureau of Vancouver Island sent out a warning Tuesday about the threat posed by online phishing scams, saying they continue to plague the region.
Phishing scams are those that use the names and identities of reputable businesses to steal personal and financial information.
No one who uses e-mail or belongs to a social networking site is immune to the dangers posed by these scams, BBB Vancouver Island executive director Rosalind Scott said in a statement.
“The only thing you can do to protect yourself, your family or your business is to stay informed about what phishing scams typically look like, and have safety features on your computers to protect them from viruses, spyware and malware,” she said.
Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O’Brien said there are always complaints of phishing scams coming in to police, but that to his knowledge there had not been any recent uptick of these.