This is Fraud Prevention Month and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says they received fraud and cybercrime reports last year totalling 530 million dollars in victim losses.  This is nearly a 40 percent increase from 2021 but the Centre estimates only five to ten percent of people report fraud.

The RCMP’s Director General of the Anti-Fraud Centre Chris Lynam reports fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated methods to victimize Canadians.  He encourages everyone to take time to learn the signs of a scam or fraud, know how to report it and share this information with the people around you adding it could take just one conversation with a loved one to prevent them from falling victim to fraud. The top three most reported types of fraud last year were phishing, extortion and personal information scams all designed to get you to pay or give away sensitive information like your social insurance number, passwords or banking details.

Anyone who believes they have been contacted by a scammer is aware of a scam or has become a victim is strongly encouraged to report it to authorities so they can warn others which may limit it from spreading.