Identifying scams and fraud

Learn how to spot common scams and tips for how you can protect yourself.

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    Fraud prevention tips

    Unfortunately, fraudsters will pretend to be someone else to gain access to your personal or financial information. Scammers do this by creating a sense of urgency and threatening you with a serious consequence. Some will even pretend to be from a trusted organization like the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), Service Canada, or your bank.  

    Please share these and other fraud prevention tips with people you know. Awareness is the first step of fraud prevention.  

    • Don’t be afraid to say no. If you feel pressured, threatened, or think a message is suspicious, don’t reply.  

    • Take your time to verify information. You can always find official points of contact on an organization’s website and ask if the message you received is real.  

    • Be aware of who is asking for your private or payment information. Check to make sure you recognize the phone number, email address, name, organization or other details before sharing your personal details. 

    • If the message sounds too good to be true, like randomly winning a draw that you don’t remember entering, it probably is.  

    • If there is a link or attachment you don’t completely trust in an email or text message, don’t click on it. Hover over the link to double check the website address before clicking and make sure they are coming from official websites. 

    Digital communications from TCHC

    • Text messages from TCHC will be sent from 1-844-948-3133. 

    • We will always direct you to a torontohousing.ca link. Be wary of lookalikes that may be used by fraudsters like ‘toront.ohousing.com’ or ‘torontohousings.com’.  

    • Emails from TCHC should come from email addresses that end with ‘@torontohousing.ca’, like no.reply@torontohousing.ca or help@torontohousing.ca. Always check before you reply to make sure it is not from a fake domain.  

    • If you suspect someone is pretending to be a TCHC staff member, don’t reply. Call the Client Care Centre or a staff member you know to verify the message. 

    • TCHC staff will never threaten you to give your payment information over text or email.

    What to do if you’ve been the victim of fraud

    If you or someone you know has been the victim of fraud, try to stay calm. 

    • Start by gathering all the information you have about what happened. Make sure to include dates, names, documents, receipts, copies of messages, etc.  

    • If money was exchanged, you can contact your bank or financial institution to let them know. They may be able to help place flags on your accounts. 

    • Report the incident to the police.  

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