Beware of COVID-19 Scams: Recognize and Protect yourself from COVID-19 Fraud
Scammers are continuously finding new ways to mislead consumers and take undue advantage of vulnerable individuals. Scam artists have been using the panic and uncertainty regarding COVID-19 to prey on consumers. As more information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, the number of fraudulent activities increase, including the Canada Emergency Response Benefit scams.
In these times of uncertainty, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre encourages you to exercise extreme caution to avoid falling for these scams and protect your finances. Reportedly, scammers are using various techniques such as phone calls, text messages, emails and door-to-door tactics to exploit consumers’ fears and target potential victims. We also strongly urge you to be wary of the misinformation surrounding COVID-19 and consider relying on official federal and provincial resources. We look at some common examples of COVID-19 related scams and the tips and tools available on how you can protect yourself from fraud.
Here are a few common examples of COVID-19 scams that we came across. Please note this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of scams:
Phishing emails related to the coronavirus often feature eye-catching yet misleading information. The aim of these emails is to get vulnerable consumers to disclose information or to download or click on malware. If you receive an email about COVID-19 with a link to get help or find cures, do not click the URL. If it appears to be from a source you trust, visit that source’s website directly.
Scammers are sending messages via email and texts while pretending to be from government sources. They are also mimicking government websites that are filled with misleading links used to commit financial fraud. Do not click on links in emails or text messages, always verify government sources before giving any sensitive information.
Additionally, scammers are luring consumers by posing as various companies and organizations claiming they are offering fake products and services meant to combat COVID-19. After clicking on these links, consumers are requested to input their financial information. Only a medical professional can give you proper medical advice for COVID-19, consult your doctor or provincial telemedicine before purchasing anything.
This method leverages on fear and involves calling random numbers and telling consumers that they have screened positive for coronavirus and demanding for their health card number along with their bank account information. If anyone calls you directly for personal information, again you should verify the source independently and not give away your information.
How to protect yourself?
Scammers are using consumers’ anxiety regarding COVID-19 to gain unfair advantage. Keep in mind these tips on how you can protect yourself from fraud:
- If you receive suspicious emails, don’t open any links
- Do not give out sensitive personal information by email or over a text message
- Monitor official sources for reliable information
- Regularly keep tabs on your bank accounts to spot suspicious charges and activities
- Be wary of unfamiliar phone numbers
For more information on how to protect yourself from financial fraud, visit:
COVID-19: Warning of potential financial fraud
If you have become a victim of fraud and need to report it, visit Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s website and see: What to do if you’re a victim of fraud
To find out how the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) continuously fights against spam and financial fraud, visit https://www.piac.ca/ or subscribe to our newsletter. Stay safe and stay aware!
We remind consumers that PIAC is not a law firm and that the information provided here does not constitute legal advice; all information provided and content available is for general informational purposes only.
Canadian Airlines: No Refund = No Bailout
Canada will soon “bail out” the ailing airline industry in Canada. We are convinced that talks between the federal government and carriers such as Air Canada, WestJet, and possibly smaller carriers are well underway. Recently, a loan package was announced in the United States for their air carriers measuring over US $25 billion with potential access to more. Back in Canada, some assistance already has been provided to smaller airlines, however, there is, given the depth of the effect of COVID-19 on air travel, no guarantee that Canada’s air travel landscape will be at all similar post-epidemic.
But consumers have other problems: many thousands hastily booked and rebooked cancelled flights when the Prime Minister asked Canadians abroad to come home. In the chaos of country-specific flight restrictions, airport and airspace closures, schedule disruptions, health screening measures and growing financial uncertainty, many airlines unilaterally delayed, rerouted, cancelled or changed consumers’ flights, sometimes for multiple flights. Thus, early priority was placed on repatriating Canadians stranded abroad. There were notable failures and stranded passengers. Other Canadians have complained about high fares for the flights that they had to book to return from abroad. There continue to be many Canadians who cannot get home. The problem is so large that the Minister of External Affairs said he has become Canada’s “travel agent to the world”. We hope the government’s efforts can bring them home soon. Canadians abroad having issues should start by registering with Global Affairs Canada and using their emergency service to get help on their COVID-19 page. They also should, to the extent they can, document their efforts to return home, so that they can have evidence for any future complaints to their airline or the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) – see more below.
Now attention is turning to those Canadians whose flights, including future flights, have been cancelled, delayed or rebooked at higher cost. More seriously, perhaps, PIAC has received many complaints from consumers about future cancelled flights and the lack of refunds for these flights.
Unfortunately, the measures taken by the federal government and in particular the airline regulator (the CTA) have not provided adequate consumer protection. The CTA, on Friday the 13th of March, on the application of the Canadian airlines, in paper hearings, without opposing parties, made sweeping (time-limited to 30 June 2020) suspensions of Canadians’ recently acquired rights to compensation for flight cancellations under the new Airline Passenger Protection Regulations. (Please see PIAC’s technical blog, with links, on these determinations). The CTA also stated that it considered that vouchers for future flights, provided they were generally usable for 24 months into the future, would be reasonable compensation for cancelled flights.
We disagree. Consumers deserve compensation for losses due to COVID-19 cancellations that were not their fault. Bailing out airlines without the condition that these customers’ losses be compensated is not acceptable. When airlines take large sums from consumers for future flights, and do not segregate those funds in trust but instead use them as operating funds, they have effectively taken consumer money for nothing. CTA also “got played” by the airline industry: they appear to have panicked and provided this extraordinary relief on the allegation of potential bankruptcy of the airlines without evidence (at least without public, transparent evidence) that the airlines truly needed to keep the money and avoid refunding cancelled and modified flights.
At best, shouldn’t CTA at the least have simply delayed such compensation until after we saw the terms of the bailout? Also, consumers’ situations are also too varied to offer future flight vouchers as if it were fair compensation. Consider, for example, elderly Canadians caught visiting foreign relatives who are now (for health or financial reasons, or simply due to the uncertainty of future air travel) unlikely to use a voucher in the future.
Class actions already have been filed saying consumers deserve monetary compensation. We urge Canadians to continue to demand refunds from their air carrier and to bring complaints to the CTA if their demands are not met – Canadians should know that the CTA continues to take consumers complaints during the suspension of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. That is, file your complaint now and don’t wait until 30 June 2020.
The basic unfairness of not compensating Canadians – who simply cannot afford the monetary losses – often in the thousands of dollars – while potentially providing billions of dollars in corporate financial relief, whether to save an essential industry or not, rightly will raise the ire of Canadians. The federal government must ensure that cancelled flights and elevated fares for returning Canadians are compensated – or no bailout. If not, the political effects will rightly fall at their feet.
UPDATE: Consumer group Option consommateurs in Montreal has started a Petition to the House of Commons demanding consumer refunds for canceled flights. Please consider signing their Petition, which is found at:
PIAC Technical Blog: Reduced Air Passenger Protections during COVID-19
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre is writing to express its views and concerns regarding the recent measures announced by the Canadian Transportation Agency during the COVID-19 pandemic and note its implications for air passengers. These changes will apply from March 13, 2020 until June 30, 2020. The CTA has posted a guide on its website that explains the temporary changes in place. We look at some measures below.
Temporary Exemptions – APPR provisions:
- The previously announced exemptions from certain APPR provisions regarding compensation and alternate travel arrangements would now apply from April 30, 2020 to June 30, 2020. Broadly, the air carriers are exempted from the obligation to pay for inconvenience if the flight delay or cancellation is communicated to passengers more than 72 hours before the departure time indicated on the ticket, or if the flight delay or cancellation is communicated within 72 hours of departure time on condition that the carrier pays compensation to passengers, i.e., $400 in the case of large carriers for delay of 6-9 hours, and $700 in case of 9+ hours; and in the case of small carriers, $125 for delay of 6-9 hours and $250 for delays of 9+ hours. (See CTA Determination No. A-2020-42 and CTA Determination No. A-2020-47).
- The CTA has identified a number of situations related to the COVID-19 pandemic that are considered to be outside the airline’s control. These include flight disruptions to locations that are covered by a government advisory against travel or unnecessary travel due to COVID-19; employee quarantine or self-isolation due to COVID-19; and additional hygiene or passenger health screening processes put in place due to COVID-19.
- It further notes that airlines may make decisions to cancel or delay flights for other reasons and whether they are within or outside the airline’s control would have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. It remains unclear as to what these other reasons could be and how will they be assessed to fall within the airlines’ control or not.
- We remind consumers that certain APPR protections do not apply to flight disruptions which are deemed to be outside the airlines’ control but passengers retain a right to rebooking. By flight disruptions here we mean flight delays and cancellation, and denied boarding that generally result in a right to monetary compensation, a set standard of treatment and rebooking or a refund for disruptions within the airlines’ control and not related to safety and if it is within the airlines’ control but required for safety, then only specific standard of treatment and rebooking or refund would apply.
- Notably, in the current situation, the CTA states that for disruptions between March 13, 2020 and June 30, 2020 that are outside the airlines’ control, they do not have to meet the APPR requirements to rebook passengers using an airline with which they have no commercial agreement.
- For situations within an airline’s control, the standards of treatment under the APPR must be met, namely, rebooking of passengers on the next available flight operated by the airline or its partner, or a refund if rebooking does not meet the passenger’s needs. However, as noted above, for disruptions between March 13, 2020 and June 30, 2020, airlines do not have to meet the APPR requirements on rebooking passengers using an airline with which they have no commercial agreement. Also as noted, the compensation levels for flight disruptions between these dates would vary as well, with some specifics as follows:
- Large airline:
- 6-9 hours: $400
- 9+ hours: $700
- Small airline:
- 6-9 hours: $125
- 9+ hours: $250
- For situations within an airline’s control but required for safety, standards of treatment under the APPR must be met: rebooking of passengers on the next available flight operated by the airline or its partner, or a refund if rebooking does not meet the passenger’s needs. Again, for disruptions between March 13, 2020 and June 30, 2020, airlines do not have to meet the APPR requirements on rebooking passengers using an airline with which they have no commercial agreement. Also, the rebooking obligation will not apply if the air carriers have already completed their booked trip.
What it means for filing claims?
- All air carriers are temporarily exempted from the APPR deadline for responding to passenger claims for compensation. The responses are to be provided within 120 days of the end of the exemption with respect to certain APPR provisions. (See CTA Determination No. A-2020-47).
- That said, air passengers can continue to file claims with the CTA as before, but there might be longer response times. We encourage consumers to continue to file claims as before but be prepared to wait for long to get any form of redress, as applicable.
- Passengers can also continue to file claims for compensation with air carriers, but notably, the carriers are temporarily exempt from the 30-day deadline to respond. This exemption is applicable to June 30, 2020. It may be extended to a later date as decided by the CTA. At the end of this exemption, the carriers will have 120 days to respond to claims that were filed during or before the exemption.
Statement on Vouchers:
- The CTA has issued a statement to respond to current flight cancellations where it notes that would be generally appropriate for airlines to provide affected passengers with vouchers or credits for future travel, provided that these vouchers or credits do not expire in an unreasonably short period of time. It notes that a period of 24 months would be considered reasonable in most cases. With many cases to be considered at their merits by the CTA.
- We remain extremely vary of supporting the provision of vouchers instead of full refunds as the ability of consumers to take advantage of these vouchers remains uncertain and unpredictable. Also, considering the current situation, it is quite likely that many consumers could be facing financial challenges that makes receiving vouchers instead of money back as an unfair alternative. Likewise, many air passengers have expressed their concerns regarding this. At the very least, if the airlines get a bailout, so passengers should be compensated.
Pausing of Dispute Resolution Activities:
- The CTA has temporarily halted all dispute resolution activities involving air carriers until June 30. This includes applications already filed with them and those made during the stay period. This is extended from April 30, 2020 to June 30, 2020. (See CTA Order 2020-A-37).
Other Temporary Changes and Suspensions:
- Air Carriers holding a domestic licence are temporarily exempted from the 120 days’ notice and consultation requirements of section 64 of the Canada Transportation Act before temporarily suspending air services within Canada. The requirements continue to apply for permanent discontinuation of service. (See CTA Order 2020-A-36).
Useful Links:
Important Information for Travellers During COVID-19
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Canadian Consumers Demand Internet, Wireless COVID-19 Relief
OTTAWA, April 7, 2020 – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), ACORN Canada (ACORN) and the National Pensioners Federation (NPF) together called today for the Federal government, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and Canada’s Internet service providers (ISPs) and Wireless Service Providers (WSPs) to do more for Canadians. Their list of demands includes calls for unlimited internet access and low-income Internet and wireless plans to help all Canadians stay connected while isolating at home.
“Canadian government has told Canadians to stay at home which we are doing,” said John Lawford, Executive Director and General Counsel of PIAC. “But this means that Canadians must have affordable Internet and wireless service to survive and stay informed. We demand that the government, the CRTC and ISPs and WSPs do more for all Canadians,” he added.
While most ISPs and some WSPs have offered time-limited and service-specific measures to assist consumers with Internet and wireless connections, these are inconsistent between companies and there is a growing risk of Canadians being unable to afford these now essential lifelines to the outside world.
Marva Burnett, National President of ACORN, noted the extreme vulnerability of low-income Canadians: “More than anyone, low-income Canadians’ lives will be endangered if they cannot remain connected to the Internet, whether for lifesaving health information, application for government assistance, for news or for their children’s education.”
Trish McAuliffe, President, NPF stated seniors’ concerns: “Asking seniors to self-isolate and give up their support system makes them extremely dependent on cellphones and the Internet.” Noting the piecemeal programs offered by the ISPs and WSPs so far, she noted: “Some seniors need more time to adjust to their instant shift to life online and on a mobile phone. We must assure them that using this lifeline will not cause them financial hardship, that there are no hidden costs.”
“Internet and cellphone access is, in the shadow of the virus, now literally a matter of life and death. Our government and the CRTC cannot leave the industry to decide what is done,” added Lawford. “Canadians need to be connected to each other without any financial or other worries.”
PIAC-ACORN-NPF’s demands are found here.
For more information, please contact:
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
John Lawford
Executive Director and General Counsel
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)
(613) 447-8125
jlawford@piac.ca
https://www.piac.ca
ACORN Canada
Marva Burnett
National President
ACORN Canada (ACORN)
416-996-6401
canadaacorn@acorncanada.org
www.acorncanada.org
National Pensioners Federation
Trish McAuliffe
President
National Pensioners Federation
905-706-5806
Trish.mcauliffe@npfmail.ca
https://nationalpensionersfederation.ca
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