Security and Protection

Group Link Inc is committed to ensuring your account protection and security. The following are some suggestions and practices you should employ to protect yourself and your Group Link Inc Account.

Identity Theft

• Identity Theft is when someone steals your personal or financial information and uses it to open accounts and make unauthorized transactions in your name. According to the Federal Trade Commission, it's one of the fastest growing crimes in the world today, so the more you know about it the better.
• Identity theft is quite difficult to undo, and repairing your financial reputation can be a frustrating, expensive, and time-consuming process. That's why prevention is the very best protection there is. Your personal information is extremely valuable to you (and to identity thieves) so you should always treat it with care.
• The best way to combat these criminals is to become familiar with the tricks of their trade. Take the time to learn how to recognize email scams, identify secure websites, and create passwords that are stronger than a criminal's will to break them

6 Keys to Preventing Identity Theft

1. Safeguard your online information as well as your person information offline by:

Create secure passwords

• Keeping your password safe is the most powerful deterrent to identity theft. Mix upper and lowercase letters with symbols, and create unique passwords for each of your accounts.
• Having a secure password is critical. Never use words or numbers that are easy to trace back to you, like birthdays or family names. It's better to use unique combinations of upper and lowercase letters mixed with numbers and symbols. It's also smart to vary your passwords from account to account.
• Make sure your passwords are strong using Upper and Lower Case letters as well a mix of numbers which should not be related to your personal history ie: using your birthday, nickname etc.

Keeping Information Safer

• Before buying something online, make sure the site is protected with effective data encryption. Just look for the locked padlock icon at the bottom of your browser.

Shred important documents

• A recent study suggests that identity thieves rummaging through your garbage or breaking into your mailbox may pose an even greater threat than online theft.

Carry only what you need

• A majority of all identity theft results from stolen wallets, cheque books, and credit cards. That's a good reason to leave your social insurance card and seldom-used credit cards at home in a safe place.

2. Do not react or respond to emails requesting sensitive information, DO NOT give it to them

Watch out for phishing

• Fake "phishing" emails appear to be from legitimate companies, but they're actually sent by potential identity thieves. They'll warn you of account problems or other urgent issues in an attempt to trick you into providing your personal information.
• You may have received an email falsely claiming to be from PayPal or another known entity. This is called "phishing" because the sender is "fishing" for your personal information. The goal is to trick you into clicking through to a fake or "spoof" website, or into calling a fraudulent customer service number where they can collect and steal your sensitive personal or financial information

Recognize spoof websites

• These are fake websites that mimic popular companies' sites. They are linked with phishing emails, and they attempt to solicit your user name and password or other account information.

Determine whether a Group Link or Group Link Member email is genuine

• Group Link nor any off its affiliated companies will never request your password or financial information in an email, or ask you to download attachments. Only share your account information once you've logged in to https://www.grouplink.ca directly from your browser.

Hold the phone

• Beware of unsolicited phone callers claiming to be from customer service centers who request your sensitive personal information. Simply hang up and call the number on the company's real website if you want to be absolutely sure.

3. Use secure methods of payment

Cheque handling

• When handled with care, cheques can be safe. However, it's worth keeping in mind that when you hand a stranger a cheque, you're also giving them your bank name, account number, address, and signature.

Online payments are safer

• Using Group Link’s online payment systems E-Debit, your transaction is as secure as it can be. Another important benefit is that the merchant you're buying from will never see your credit card or bank account numbers.

4. Keep your computer protected

• Update your browser and security programs
• Install your operating system's security patches when they become available, and be sure you're running the latest browser. Make sure your anti-phishing and anti-virus filters are enabled, and consider setting up a firewall to prevent anyone from hacking into your network or computer.

5. Always be vigilant

Report any suspicious activity

• Always immediately report anything out of the ordinary-from phishing to fake websites to unauthorized account activity directly to www.security@grouplink.ca. In addition if you experience activity within the Group Link website please report the incident for the benefit of all our members. It is has been reported that you're less likely to be seriously impacted by identity theft if you discover and report the incident within as soon as you become aware of its occurrence.

6. Monitor your accounts frequently

• Regularly Log in to your Group Link account and check your account
• Do the same for your credit card and bank accounts on a regular basis to look for unfamiliar transactions