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Data Privacy Day 2016: Five tips to help protect your privacy online

Data Privacy Day 2016: Five tips to help protect your privacy online

January 28th is Data Privacy Day, a day in which organizations around the world annually participate in initiatives to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the privacy of your information.

In today's world of social media, mobile, cloud, big data and analytics, it's more important than ever that we all maintain a healthy awareness when it comes to protecting our privacy. At RBC, one of our highest priorities and a cornerstone of our business remains our commitment to the privacy and security of information - of our clients, employees and RBC itself.

One area we want to bring to your attention is "Phishing". Phishing is an online scam designed to trick you into disclosing your personal or financial information for the purpose of financial fraud or identity theft. Cybercriminals who create phishing emails have become more sophisticated in luring people into clicking on their phishing emails. This can trigger damaging effects that inevitably provide backdoor access to your private information. Here are five tips to help you recognize and avoid phishing emails:

  1. Just because an email or website appears to be from a legitimate company doesn't mean it is. Phishing schemes are designed to look real in order to trick users into divulging personal information such as credit card numbers, account numbers, passwords, date of birth, driver's license number, or your social insurance/social security number for the purpose of financial fraud or identity theft.
  2. Phishing emails have become more targeted and personalized and often use your email address such as "Dear john.doe@abcd.com" or even your name.
  3. Some emails will refer to a "problem" with your account and urge you to access a link to verify your information. We will never notify you of a problem through an unsolicited email. There is often a sense of urgency in the email encouraging you to respond immediately.
  4. Many emails have links that look valid and are very enticing but lead to a fake website or contain a virus.
  5. And finally, if it's sounds too good to be true it probably is too good to be true.

If you think your banking privacy or security has been compromised in any way, please contact us immediately. We have a dedicated team working 24/7 to prevent, detect and investigate fraud.

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