In 2022, 90,137 incidents of fraud were reported, with 56,352 Canadian victims and a total loss of $530 million, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC).
Each year, CAFC documents new frauds, trying to stay ahead of scammers who keep coming up with more innovative ways to victimize Canadians for their money.
This month, for example, a First Nations woman in Ontario said that she replied on social media to a Facebook video with celebrity renovation contractor Mike Holmes, asking for help to restore her 100-year-old farmhouse. She received a reply from someone claiming to be with HGTV, a TV network with home renovation shows, who asked for an application form, personal information, and a deposit for the repairs for participation in the show.
As the woman was using a loan from the Six Nations Housing department for her renovation budget, the scam became obvious quickly when officials tried to speak with the supposed HGTV contractor as part of the loan process.
Service scams, such as this one, cost Canadians nearly $20.6 million last year, with 6,255 reports of fraud of this nature and 4,536 victims, according to statistics provided to The Epoch Times by CAFC spokesperson Jeff Horncastle.
Not all scams are reported. The CAFC suggests that less than 5 percent of Canadian fraud and scam victims report the crime. The scams are always evolving with new versions of how they are carried out.
Investment Fraud
Investment fraud, from the cases reported, resulted in the highest dollar value loss for Canadians, at $308.6 million in 2022.
Various versions of investment fraud exist, but most attempts are coordinated and use stock market scams, “pump and dump” schemes (where promoters pump up a stock, boost demand, and then dump the stock for a fast profit), and cryptocurrency scams.
On Jan. 10, the British Columbia Securities Commission warned the public that scammers were posing as staff of the Canadian Securities Administrator, contacting investors and requesting money or payments related to fictitious enforcement actions or investigations.
