Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel proclaimed March 1 as Change Your PIN Day.
Police are encouraging Edmontonians to change their banking PIN numbers Thursday to help prevent fraud.
In Edmonton last month police issued an arrest warrant for ten men accused of skimming more than half a million dollars from at least 900 bank accounts in Edmonton.
Here are some additional tips from Royal Bank of Canada: http://www.rbc.com/privacysecurity/ca/alert-fraud-prevention-month.html
- Keep personal information confidential.
- Do not give out personal information over the phone, through email or over the Internet unless you initiated the contact and know who you're dealing with.
- Do not include personal information in regular, unencrypted email or enter it on an unencrypted website as your information will not be secure.
- Keep your personal information safe. An identity thief will pick through your garbage or recycling bins, so be sure to shred receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, etc.
- Protect your PIN and passwords. Do not reveal your PIN or passwords to anyone, including employees of RBC, family members and friends. When conducting a transaction at an ATM or retail (point-of-sale) location, keep your Client Card/Credit Card within sight and shield the keypad when entering your PIN.
- Be aware and be safe! REMEMBER—if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
March is Fraud Prevention Month: Recognize it, Report it, Stop it!
Over the next four weeks, the RCMP will be participating in a series of local and national fraud-awareness initiatives. To reduce your chances of being victimized by fraud, check the RCMP's website daily during the month of March for tips aimed at keeping you safe from scammers. Topics covered will include identity theft, phishing, on-line shopping, social networking and credit and debit card fraud.
For more information, see Metro Edmonton March 1, 2012 http://metronews.ca/news/edmonton/9057/a-day-to-change-your-pin/
and CTV Edmonton. http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/mayor-mandel-proclaims-march-1st-change-your-pin-day-1.775231