Many of us spend hours a day online – at work, at home and on the go. Unfortunately, so do Internet scammers who may be phishing for your personal information. In the spirit of March’s Fraud Prevention Month and helping consumers recognize, prevent and report fraudulent activities, today’s blog post focuses on what you might need to know about phishing scams.

Well, mid-January is upon us and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to announce the Top 10 Scams, an annual list created in partnership between Consumer Protection BC, the BBB, British Columbia Securities Commission, the Competition Bureau of Canada, the RCMP and the Vehicle Sales Authority. From romance to computer scams, this year’s list is themed “just in case a scam is around the corner,” showing how even the most convincing promise can turn out to be not exactly what it’s supposed to be. Read on to learn more about this year’s Top 10 list and for tips on how to protect yourself against scammers.

In many ways, credit cards make our lives easier. So long as you are realistic about how much you use your credit card, they can be a great way to take advantage perks such as travel points or cash back rewards. This being said, they can also be a source of frustration when they lost or stolen or if someone had made fraudulent charges. Here are some tips on reducing the risk of credit card fraud.

Now that all the New Year festivities have died down and we are making our way through the first weeks of 2012, here is an overview of the Top 10 Scams to watch out for. This list was created in collaboration with Consumer Protection BC, the Better Business Bureau of the Lower Mainland and the BC Crime Prevention Association.

Whether its for $5 or $500, gift cards make great little stocking stuffers and are the perfect gift for those hard to buy folks.  In British Columbia, since 2008,  gift cards for a monetary value are not allowed to have an expiry date.  There are exceptions for when a gift card can have an expiry date however, such as for a specific good like a hair cut or for a mall card, where the card is good at more than one store.  If you are planning on giving a gift card this year, keep reading to see more information and tips we have about gift cards!

I had some time off last week and did a short road trip with some friends from Victoria down to Portland Oregon.  I admit that the purpose of our mini-trip was to do some shopping and spend some time together, but we managed to fit in some tourist activity as well.  One of our stops was at a tulip farm.  I was amazed at how gorgeous the colourful fields of tulips were!  My mom loves tulips and I was reminded that Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday.