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Have you been a victim
of fraud?

Learn how to spot common frauds and scams.

Since fraud affects millions of Canadians every year, and scammers are constantly adapting and evolving their devious tactics, it’s a good idea to stay informed to help protect yourself and your family. We can help with that.

OTP scam

Scammers may impersonate your bank and try to access your account.

  1. Unless you initiate the call, TD will never ask for your PIN, OTP or passwords.

  2. TD Bank will never ask to remote access your account.


Things to watch out for

Please be certain why you’re providing the OTP. Remember, we would never call you and ask for this code if the card was compromised.

If you’re not certain you’re speaking with a TD agent, please hang up and call the number on the back of the card.

When do we request an OTP?

  1. Digital (we may prompt you with an OTP you enter directly)
  2. Purchases (where you enter the OTP indirectly)
  3. If you initiated contact with a TD Call Centre, you may be prompted to share verbally over the phone
  • You receive a suspicious call

    You receive a call from someone claiming to be a government official, a bank employee, or a renowned organization.

    Though caller ID may say the call is coming from your bank, scammers can use call spoofing technology to appear as anyone they like.

  • Fake emergency claims

    They link you to pending court cases, say your mobile number is being used in a crime, claim that Wi-Fi has been compromised, or make other urgent requests that require your immediate attention.

  • Ask for personal information

    They ask you for your personal information, bank account details, and OTPs.

    Keep in mind, TD will never ask to remote access your account.

  • Threaten with police or court

    They threaten to escalate matters to the police or someone of higher authority if you don’t cooperate.

    Some may sound helpful and offer assistance to help you resolve the impending issues. But only if you cooperate by giving them what they need.

These types of scams commonly affect:

  • Newcomers to Canada

  • Seniors

  • Anyone

  • Young adults

Try yourself: Can you spot the OTP scam?

You receive a call from someone claiming to be from your bank, informing you that your bank account is facing issues and may be terminated. To resolve this issue, you must provide your personal information such as your bank details and an OTP that has been texted to your phone.

Investment scam

Scammers will send fake offers via email, instant messaging apps, social media and even dating sites.

  1. They will sometimes take over your friend’s social media account to make the scam seem legitimate.


Things to watch out for

Be wary of low-risk and high return investment opportunities. Any unsolicited investment advice, especially through social media, should be approached with caution.

If you feel uncertain about investment advice, consider speaking to someone you trust. Having conversations with friends and family can not only help your situation, but avoid them from falling victim in the future.

  • Little to no risk, but high return

    High-risk investments often offer higher potential returns, and lower-risk investments offer lower potential returns. When you buy investments like stocks, there’s no guarantee you’ll make money. You could even lose money if the stock price goes down.

  • “Hot tip” or insider information

    Think about why they’re offering you a tip and how they benefit by telling you. If the hot tip is false, you may lose your money if you act on it. If it really is insider information about a public company, it may be illegal to act on it.

  • Pressure to make a fast decision

    Scammers frequently use high-pressure tactics because they want to get your money and move on to another victim. Scammers also know that if you have time to check things out, you may not fall for the fraud.

  • Unregistered regulator

    In general, anyone selling securities or offering investment advice must be registered with a securities regulator in a province or territory.

These types of scams commonly affect:

  • Newcomers to Canada

  • Seniors

  • Young adults

  • Anyone

Try yourself: Spot the investment scam

You receive an unsolicited email from someone claiming to be an investment banker who found your profile online. They share interests that are similar to yours and ask if you’d be interested in a crypto currency trading tip. They share details of a website, performance charts, and even online reviews that all look legitimate. They mention the investment is primed to make a huge return, and you should invest a large amount of your savings to help you retire early.

Romance scam

Scammers will often target their victims through online dating websites or social media. The intention is to gain trust and affection, so they’ll likely profess their love for someone very quickly.


Things to watch out for

If someone professes their love too quickly or consistently avoids any opportunity to meet in-person, exercise extreme caution.

Be wary of a romantic partner who says they live nearby and are currently working overseas.

  • The romance moves very quickly

    Romance scammers will be quick to “fall in love” and profess their love. Their goal is to manipulate the victim emotionally as quickly as possible, before the victim realizes they’re being scammed. They may also propose marriage very quickly.

  • Little information or presence online

    These scammers will often impersonate someone else and may only have one or two images of the person they’re impersonating.

    They also may include images on their profiles that show only a portion of their face.

  • Asks for money

    Common reasons romance scammers provide when they ask for money:

    • Travel expenses
    • Medical bills or other emergency expenses
    • Get out of debt to start a “new life” with you

    They will often create a sob story to manipulate their victims into sending money.

  • Avoids in-person meetings

    Romance scammers usually use fake profile images to hide their identity. They’ll continuously make promises to meet in person, even internationally.

    However, they’ll have an “emergency” preventing them from travelling or meeting you.

These types of scams commonly affect:

  • Newcomers to Canada

  • Seniors

  • Young adults

Can you spot the romance scam?

You meet someone on a dating site who lives in a different country than you. Within no time at all, they’ve charmed you and professed their love and suggested marriage. However, they’ve mentioned that they need money to support their family and get out of debt. They agree to fly to you if you buy them the plane ticket but cancel at the last minute because their mother got sick.

Job scam

Two ways fraudsters target their victims are:

  1. Asking them to accept fraudulent money through cheque or e-transfer.

  2. They may also pretend to hire the victim and ask for job-related expenses to be paid.


Things to watch out for

Be cautious about unsolicited job offers through text or email with promises of making “easy money”.

A job should never require you to use your personal bank account or credit products as a form of transferring money to another party.

  • Lucrative job offers

    You may receive a tempting offer for a job that comes with a high salary, but vague details. If you apply, you may find the "employer" asking you to pay fees or reveal sensitive details.

  • Upfront details

    Scammers trying to access your information often request personal details, like proof of residence or financial statements, upfront.

    Legitimate companies typically don't require this information until the interview or onboarding phase.

  • Fake accounts and websites

    Since almost anyone can open and operate a social media account or website, scammers commonly create online platforms for made-up employers or fake channels for real companies. These channels typically have little-to-no information about the company.

  • Unnecessary calls

    A scam caller tends to call persistently, trying to pressure you into accepting what they're offering. Often, they’ll claim you may lose the opportunity to apply for a job if you don't immediately respond or agree to the terms.

These types of scams commonly affect:

  • Newcomers to Canada

  • Young adults

Try yourself: Can you spot the job scam?

You receive an email for a potential job opportunity. The person asks about your place of residence and financial information upfront. They tell you that you can make thousands of dollars with little work, while also working from home.

Emergency or grandparent scam

The scammer will call and impersonate the victim’s grandchild or family member, claiming to be in trouble and needs money urgently.

  1. They will swear you to secrecy under the guise of embarrassment.


Things to watch out for

If you receive a call that seems out of the ordinary or suspicious, verify the caller by asking questions that only the real person would be able to answer. Or, hang up, and try contacting them at a phone number you know is legitimate.

Remember, advanced technology allows scammers to mimic the voice of your loved ones, giving them the ability to sound remarkably similar.

  • Poses as a loved one in trouble

    The caller will claim to be in trouble and will request money right away. They may say they were in a car accident with a rental car or they were arrested and jailed in another city or country. The “grandchild” will ask the victim to not tell anyone.

  • Suspicious phone call

    A senior or family member will receive a phone call from the scammer impersonating a loved one in trouble.

  • Poses an emergency or immediate risk

    The scammer will claim to be at risk or in an emergency. To make the story seem more credible, the caller might also put another person on the phone to act like a police officer, bail bondsman or lawyer.

  • Money transfers to receive cash

    The victim will wire money from their bank to the “grandchild”. It’ll be sent through a money transfer service (i.e., Western Union) where it can be picked up at any international location. The scammer may also arrange for a courier to get the money.

These types of scams commonly affect:

  • Newcomers to Canada

  • Seniors

Can you spot the emergency or grandparent scam?

You receive a call from someone claiming to be a loved one in trouble. They claim to have been in a traffic accident or a robbery where they’ve been injured. The accident location may be in a foreign country, even a location your loved one has traveled to. They urgently ask for money in the way of wire transfer. They ask you to keep this a secret in fear of embarrassment.

Bank investigator scam

Scammer will call and pose as the victim’s bank, providing a name and fake employee number.

  1. Tells the victim their accounts have been compromised and may ask for them to assist in this investigation.


Things to watch out for

If you receive a call from someone who says they're from your bank, take down their name and hang up. Call the bank back using the bank's public phone number. Your bank will never request you to assist in an undercover investigation.

Scammers often convey a sense of urgency to rush you into quick decisions. They’ll often threaten you if you don’t do as they say. Or, may offer private info they’ve obtained from the dark web to further convince you of their authenticity.

  • Fake bank employee or police call

    Scammer will call and pretend to be a bank employee from the fraud department. They’ll try to convince the victim to give them their banking information to gain access to the victim's accounts.

  • Fake compromised account

    Fraudster provides their name and a phony employee number and tells the victim either that their accounts have been compromised, or that the bank is investigating a series of fraud cases that have been committed by staff at the individual’s branch.

  • Asks to keep situation confidential

    The scammer asks the victim to help with a fictitious law enforcement investigation into a fraud case. Insisting on keeping it secret from branch staff and loved ones. They’ll often request your PIN, password or OTP (One-time password) as well.

  • Fake fund deposits

    Scammers may “deposit” money into their victim’s account but use cash advances from the victim’s credit cards. Then, they ask for the money to be sent back for investigation.

    They may ask victims to buy gift cards and share the activation code.

These types of scams commonly affect:

  • Newcomers to Canada

  • Seniors

  • Young adults

  • Anyone

Can you spot the bank investigator scam?

You receive a telephone call early in the morning, often when you’re still sleeping, from someone claiming to be a representative from a financial institution. While on the phone, you’re rushed into making a decision or giving personal information. You’re then asked to make a purchase of gift cards, prepaid credit cards or cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin. The person then asks you to keep this information private and to tell no one.

Here are a few quick tips to help protect you from fraud.

EnableTD Fraud Alerts. Receive instant text messages notifying you of suspicious activity.

Protect your PIN and passwords. Never share this confidential information with anyone.

Lock or block TD cards. Use the TD app to lock a lost TD credit card or TD Access card or block international purchases while in Canada.

Practice skepticism. Approach unsolicited advice with suspicion. Don’t open links from emails, texts or on social media you don’t recognize.


Frequently asked questions

Online fraud is a crime that happens by email, text message, fake websites, and other methods, with one purpose: to steal your money or personal information. Some examples include:

Identity theft: when someone uses your personal information without you agreeing to it, such as opening a bank account or applying for credit in your name.

Phishing: fraudulent emails or websites.

Smishing: fraudulent SMS text messages.

Vishing: fraudulent phone calls.

Investment scams: attempts to convince you to invest in fraudulent or deceptive investment opportunities, promising high rewards with minimal risk.

Romance scams: criminals who pretend to be romantically interested in you, but who really want to steal your money or personal information, often by contacting you through dating websites or social media.

Emergency or grandparent scams: fraudsters who contact you by email, phone, text, direct message or another method, pretending to be a loved one in urgent need of help (usually a fast money transfer). What the fraudster is really doing is trying to trick you into giving them money.

Learn how to protect yourself from these and other scams


Shopping online is easy, convenient and, most of the time, safe. You should always be cautious when you’re asked for information by an online store or company, especially if you don’t know them or haven’t bought from them before. Remember:

  1. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

  2. Shop with well-known, familiar stores. If you want to buy something from an online store you don’t know, research the company or store before you buy.

  3. Be cautious about how you pay for your purchase: the safest way is with a credit card or debit card through a secure site.

  4. Don’t make purchases through a pop-up page: go directly to the retailer’s secure website.


To report online fraud (i.e., phishing emails, fraudulent text messages, etc.), send an email to phishing@td.com. Attach copies of suspicious emails, text messages and any links or URLs that you think might be fake.

If you do not recognize a transaction (like a purchase, debit or other charge) on your TD statement, call TD Bank right away at:

  1. TD Bank: 1-866-222-3456

  2. TD Direct Investing: 1-800-465-5463

  3. TD Insurance: 1-877-397-4187

  4. Web Business Banking Support: 1-800-668-7328

  1. TD Bank: 1-866-222-3456

  2. TD Direct Investing: 1-800-465-5463

  3. TD Insurance: 1-877-397-4187

  4. Web Business Banking Support: 1-800-668-7328.

You can also chat with us through EasyWeb and the TD app, or at a TD Branch.

Learn how to report online fraud


When logging in to EasyWeb online banking on your computer, always go to the official TD Bank website by typing in "td.com" or use the mobile app on your phone. 

When using online banking in a public place, always make sure your password can’t be seen by anyone and that you’re using a secure connection. Avoid using public connections, like a hotel connection or a transit connection. 

Make sure your phone and other devices you use for online banking are password-protected. Turn on Two-Step Verification, when possible. With this feature, we’ll confirm it’s you by sending a text message to your phone.

Learn more about Two-Step Verification


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