Police forces along with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and Competition Bureau of Canada have launched the 19th annual Fraud Prevention Month.
This year the focus of the campaign is all about the tricks in a fraudster’s toolbox.
In 2022 alone reported frauds totaled a staggering $530 million in losses to victims, which is up around 40 percent over 2021.
These numbers are startling as it is estimated that only 5-10 percent of all victims report being scammed.
In 2022, the top frauds affecting Canadians on a daily basis were:
· Investment frauds represented $308 million in reported losses in 2022. Ontario victims reported losing over $136 million.
· Romance frauds represented $59 million in reported losses in 2022. Ontario victims reported losing over $20 million.
· Spear phishing frauds (Business Email Compromise) represented $58 million in reported losses in 2022. Ontario victims reported losing over $21.1 million.
· Service scams represented $20.5 million in reported losses in 2022. Ontario victims reported losing over $8.1 million.
· Extortion frauds represented $19 million in reported losses in 2022. Ontario victims reported losing over $4.8 million.
Written by Rob Ross
