New version of bank scam making its rounds in Ontario [Video]

With the holidays behind us, scammers are targeting unsuspecting Canadians with a fresh wave of text message scams.

This latest scam begins with either a text message or email from the Royal Bank of Canada, notifying recipients of a “potential issue” and asking them to review their account activity by clicking on a link to “royal client-sign in-en.com.” While the message appears urgent and official, the link redirects to a fake website designed to steal sensitive information.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, a trusted resource in identifying and preventing scams, describes this as a smishing scam—a variation of phishing, but delivered via text messages.

In a typical smishing scam, the CAFC says the culprits may impersonate reputable institutions or companies including banks, online subscription services like Netflix or Amazon, businesses and government departments.

Scammers will then request victims to click on links, download attachments, or fill out forms online. They may …