Canadians lost $38 million to this scam in 2021. The number three scam is the spearfishing scam, where criminals send texts or e-mails pretending to be with the government, businesses or someone you know trying to access your accounts. It could take years for the relationship to develop or sometimes they'll move quite quickly," said Labine. “The criminals create fake profiles where they use stolen photos to make the victim believe it is actually them. In the number two spot for scams in 2021 is the romance scam, where criminals use social media and dating sites to have virtual relationships with people and then eventually ask them for money.Ĭanadians lost more than $42.2 million to romance scams so far this year. “We also advise people to communicate with their bank to see if there is any way of being refunded some of that money seeing as they are a victim of fraud,” Labine added. Quite often they do need further counseling and how to deal with that type of loss," said Labine. “It is very devastating unfortunately for these people. Scammers may create fake accounts and advise people to invest in cryptocurrencies, and while the websites may look very real to the victim they are fraudulent with none of their money ever really invested. Sue Labine, Call Centre Supervisor for the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, said the top scam in Canada from January 2021 to September of this year is the investment scam, with Canadians losing $70.2 million. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre said that fraudsters have become more sophisticated and detailed and unfortunately many Canadians are losing millions of dollars to criminals. Whether it was because Canadians spent more time online or on social media, many were more susceptible to investment fraud, romance scams and other criminal activity. While many overseas scam boiler rooms and call centres closed down at the beginning the pandemic, they came back with a vengeance as COVID-19 dragged on in 2021.
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