Security and fraud prevention

Épargne Placements Québec and its customers share responsibility for the protection of personal information. Such responsibility is crucial to effectively protect sensitive information. 

Despite the robust security measures that Épargne Placements Québec has implemented, customers are responsible for ensuring an elevated level of security when they exchange information through the public Internet or by telephone. Customers must also be aware of fraud-related risks and take steps to protect their personal information.

Épargne Placements Québec offers its customers advice and fraud-prevention tools. 

• Use alert services: If you have not already done so, activate notifications to be informed immediately of suspicious activity in your account.
• Never disclose confidential information: Never share your personal or financial information such as your log-in identifiers, verification codes, or passwords. 

The password assigned to you when you register in the “Online Transactions” section of Épargne Placements Québec’s website is a passkey. To maximize the confidentiality of your data and the security of your transactions, never disclose the password. You are responsible for managing your password to control access to your confidential financial data. 

• Use strong passwords: Use unique, complex passwords for your online accounts and change them frequently. If you believe that your login details have been compromised, immediately change your password.
• Properly end each session: By disconnecting, you prevent unauthorized access to your account in the event of the loss or theft of your device. Moreover, this reduces the risk of session hacking, where an ill-intentioned individual or organization attempts to access your account through a previously opened session. Taking this simple precaution will bolster the security of your online information.
• Clear your web browser’s cache memory after each session: Clearing the browser’s cache memory helps to protect your information by removing the temporary data that the browser stores, including cookies and browsing history. Your browser’s cache memory usually preserves an impression of the pages that you have consulted in order to accelerate future navigation on the Internet. Accordingly, to optimize the security of your data and prevent anyone from obtaining knowledge of the confidential information exchanged, we recommend that you clear your cache memory at the end of each session on Épargne Placements Québec’s digital platforms if you use a public or shared computer. Consult your browser’s documentation to learn how to clear the cache memory, which can vary from one browser to another.
• Beware of phishing techniques: Beware of emails, telephone calls, or text messages that ask you to disclose personal information such as financial information. Épargne Placements Québec never contacts its customers to request personal information, whether by telephone, text message, or email. When you speak to an employee, he always identifies you before the call begins. We maintain customer identification measures and apply them rigorously to guarantee individual security. 

Phishing is a form of fraud whereby recipients are asked for several reasons to verify their personal information. Such information can lead to financial fraud or identity theft. Fraudulent emails can reproduce the Épargne Placements Québec graphic charter, e.g., its logo and typography, and contain a hyperlink leading to a fake website that resembles that of Épargne Placements Québec. If you receive suspicious emails, telephone calls, or messages contact us through official channels to verify the authenticity of the requests. If you receive emails that seem dubious, do not respond to them and do not click on the hyperlinks in them. To avoid any kind of phishing verify the unique address of our website (epq.gouv.qc.ca), which appears in your browser’s address bar when you visit our website. We recommend that you manually enter the address or store it in your favourites. 

Be sure to disable transfers of emails or calls that you initiated in the past.

• Keep your contact information up to date: Be sure to update your contact information so that we can communicate quickly with you if the need arises.
• Beware of additional swindles: Fraudsters can attempt to re-contact you to obtain additional information or commit other frauds. Recognize such attempts and do not share any personal or financial information.
• Protect your computer, tablet, or telephone: When you navigate in the “Online Transactions” section on our website, be sure that the address begins with “https,” which means that its security certificate is valid. Furthermore, remember that your operating system, e.g., Microsoft Windows, Linux, or MacOS, is your computer’s most important software. It is essential to regularly update it to remedy security breaches and enhance the system, which will enable it to better resist cyberattacks.
• Do not disclose personal information on social media accounts: While it is possible to engage in a private discussion with an Épargne Placements Québec representative using the Messenger private message function, never transmit confidential information to us through this communication channel.
• Do not transmit your personal information by email: All information transmitted to Épargne Placements Québec through the Internet benefits from a protection mechanism. However, even though the information transmitted to us by email is encrypted, we recommend that you never transmit to us confidential information.
• Educate the members of your household: Inform the members of your household of good practices in the realm of computer security, especially to avoid clicking on hyperlinks or attachments of unknown origin.

Following this advice will bolster the security of your connected devices and reduce the risk of cyberattacks.