Fraud Prevention Centre

Educating yourself about fraud is your best protection against it. This resource is intended to help you recognize and how to report anything you think is suspicious. If you believe you’ve received any suspected fraudulent correspondence purporting to be from Manulife or John Hancock, please contact us immediately at investigativeservices@manulife.com or 1-800-737-8500. If you’d like to find out more about how we protect your privacy, please take a look at our Privacy Policy.

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While fraud can take many forms, it is generally known as misrepresentation or concealment of a material fact or willful or deliberate act or failure to act with the intention of obtaining an unauthorized benefit. Manulife/John Hancock may learn of a misuse of its brands through a variety of ways. It is important to note that these scams may use a variation of our Company name and logo. If you suspect that the Manulife/John Hancock brand names or logos have been misused, please contact us at investigativeservices@manulife.com or 1-800-737-8500.

If you receive suspicious correspondence purporting to be from Manulife/John Hancock, please contact us at investigativeservices@manulife.com or 1-800-737-8500. Please make sure to attach any suspicious documents to your email.

Helpful hints to protect yourself

Do not open emails from unknown sources, or from an institution you do not do business with, delete it immediately.
If you were not expecting the email, and it is from a business institution you utilize, call the financial institution rather than clicking on the link.
When submitting any financial information, look at the address bar and ensure that it starts with https:// rather than http://
Look at the senders email address, if it does not tie to the institution purportedly sending the message, delete the email.
Do not provide your personal identifying, financial, banking or credit card information to a party that you have not fully vetted.
If submitting an e-mail message to an institution you have a relationship with, treat the e-mail as if it were a postcard.
Don't include any information that you wouldn't be willing to write on a postcard.
Be suspicious of unsolicited correspondence alerting you to winning a lottery/sweepstakes or an unexpected inheritance.
Never respond to an email received from someone unknown to you. Hover your cursor over the link in the email.
If it shows something different than what it is purporting to be or just does not look right to you, do not click on the link and instead call your financial institution to ask about the email.
Do not click on links, open attachments or download files sent to you from someone unknown to you.
Be aware of email spoofing - when a fraudster forges an email header (from address) so that it appears the message came from a legitimate source in order to trick people into opening it.
Look for misspelling within the email or broken English. These are indications that the email is not from your financial institution and is in reality a phishing email.
Always use a secure website to send personal or financial information. Ensure that the padlock icon is visible in your browser.
Log into your online accounts on a regular basis. Report any suspicious transactions to your financial institution immediately.
Install anti-virus/anti-spyware software and keep it up to date to detect known malware. Today's Internet Security packages incorporate this type of software with a firewall and website reputation software, which, when installed and activated, can help prevent the download of malware to your PC or prevent you from connecting to a known malicious website.
Create a user account on your PC that does not have administrative rights to the PC and use that new account for everything but updating or installing new software. This will help prevent malware from being installed to your PC should you click on a malicious link.
Bookmark web addresses on your browser for sites you visit frequently and for future visits, use only that bookmarked address to access the site. For example, type the John Hancock Investments website [jhinvestments.com] to go to our site and then bookmark the Web address on your Internet browser.
Review your credit report every four to six months for unauthorized activity.
Do not deposit a check or similar instrument into your bank account without verifying the check with the issuing bank. Counterfeit checks will not clear and be returned unpayable.
Never wire funds from your bank account until a deposited check clears. Manulife/John Hancock do not request personal and/or financial information via email or text or up-front fees.
Be aware that criminals may obtain pieces of your background from information that you post on social media websites. For example, a résumé that you post to the Internet most likely contains your name, residential / email address and telephone phone number, as well as education and work histories. Fraudsters will use this information to extract additional information from you.

The below fraud alerts are provided for educational purposes and is not to be considered an all-inclusive list. If you receive suspicious correspondence purporting to be from Manulife/John Hancock, please contact us at investigativeservices@manulife.com or 1-800-737-8500.

Employment offer scams

Fraudsters, impersonating Manulife/John Hancock representatives, post fake jobs on legitimate employment message boards and social media web sites. Moreover, a fraudster may find your résumé posted online and, using the contact information contained therein, send you an unsolicited email or text offering a job or to set up an interview via instant messenger or texting. Manulife/John Hancock do not conduct interviews by instant messenger or texting nor ask for personal and financial information or payment of upfront fees. Moreover, any email correspondence coming from Manulife’s/John Hancock’s recruiting organization will come from a @manulife.com or @jhancock.com domain (be aware of email address spoofing). What purports to be a Manulife/John Hancock cheque may be sent to the candidate to purchase office supplies or as a salary advance. A certain amount, however, is asked to be returned to cover fees or taxes. Do not deposit the cheque nor correspond with the fraudster. The correspondence and cheque bearing the Manulife/John Hancock brand are counterfeit. If you unsure about the legitimacy of an employment opportunity with Manulife or John Hancock, please contact our HR Service Centre at 1-877-455-2055.

View an example of this employment offer scam

Misuse of brand

From time to time, Manulife and John Hancock, like the brands of other financial institutions, are misappropriated by criminals. High-tech or low-tech, these schemes are widespread and constantly evolving. Phishing is a general term for emails, text messages and websites fabricated by criminals designed to look like a communication that came from well-known and trusted businesses, financial institutions and government agencies in an attempt to collect personal, financial and sensitive information from recipients. This fraudulent activity is also known as social engineering. Variations of the same theme include more, low-tech “advance fee” schemes conducted via email or regular mail, where a victim is induced to pay money to someone in anticipation of something of greater value, or a telemarketing scheme where victims are induced to supply personal or financial information via telephone.

Lottery sweepstakes scam

Manulife/John Hancock do not participate in lottery/sweepstakes contests. This scam involves the receipt of an unsolicited letter or email announcing lottery or sweepstakes winnings and could, if received by regular mail, include a corresponding cheque. The letter and cheque may reflect the name, address and logo of Manulife/John Hancock. You will be asked to deposit the enclosed cheque into your bank account and return a certain amount, via a wire service or bank for example, to cover fees or taxes. Do not deposit the cheque nor correspond with lottery or sweepstakes representatives; the letter and cheque bearing the Manulife/John Hancock brand is counterfeit. Do not click on any links included in electronic communication.

View an example of this lottery sweepstakes scam

Loan/loan consolidation scam

Fraudsters, using the Manulife/John Hancock brand, advertise loans or loan consolidation services on the Internet or in other publications. In order to “qualify” for a loan, unsuspecting victims are asked to provide personal identifying, financial, banking or credit card information via a website or email. A communication will follow approving the loan, but demanding that processing fees be paid upfront before the loan is provided. If a cheque is received, you will be asked to deposit it into your bank account and return a certain amount, via a wire service or bank for example, to cover fees or taxes. Do not deposit the cheque nor correspond with loan services representatives; the letter and cheque bearing the Manulife/John Hancock brand is counterfeit.

View an example of this loan consolidation scam

Cheque/overpayment scam

Fraudsters purchase merchandise from a seller through legitimate websites or online classified ads. Shortly thereafter, the seller receives what purports to be a Manulife/John Hancock cheque in an amount exceeding the cost of the merchandise. Despite the explanation for the overpayment, the buyer is asked to deposit the cheque into their bank account and return the excess amount via a wire service or bank, for example. Do not deposit the cheque nor correspond with purchaser of the merchandise nor correspond with the seller; cheques bearing the Manulife/John Hancock brand are counterfeit.

View an example of this cheque/overpayment scam

Inheritance scam

You receive an unsolicited letter, allegedly from an attorney, banker or even from someone claiming to be a Manulife/John Hancock representative. The letter notes that you are entitled to a large inheritance from a distant relative or wealthy benefactor who has died. You are often the only resource available to help secure the money, the amount of which money can vary, but typically in the millions of dollars. The fraudster notes that the money is difficult to retrieve due to government and bank restrictions or taxes in a particular country. Despite the seemingly elaborate story described in the letter, do not correspond with the sender. Do not provide personal identifying, financial, banking or credit card information. A letter or cheque bearing the Manulife/John Hancock brand is counterfeit.

View an example of this inheritance scam

Below is a directory of resources that may offer guidance and assistance. If you have suffered a financial loss as a result of fraud, you are also encouraged to contact your local police.