Fraud Losses in Canada Reaches Historic Level

April 27, 2023

2 minutes read

In the past decade, technology has completely transformed the criminal landscape, making fraud easier to commit, more widespread, and more sophisticated than ever before.

In 2022, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received fraud and cybercrime reports totalling a staggering $530 million in victim losses. Nearly a 40% increase from the unprecedented $380 million in losses in 2021. Unfortunately, the increase in financial loss isn’t tied to an increase in reporting—the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre estimates that only 5 to 10% of people report fraud.

While law enforcement agencies and members of the Fraud Prevention Forum are committed to strategically collaborating and dedicating resources to preventing and combatting fraud, Canadian consumers and businesses also have a huge role to play to help stop fraudsters. Education and awareness are the strongest line of defence against scams and fraud.

Quick facts

In 2022, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received a total of 70,878 reports and 37,047 of these reports were victims of mass marketing fraud. Additionally, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received reports of 19,560 victims to identification fraud.
The top three most reported types of fraud this past year were phishing, extortion and personal information scams, all frauds designed to get you to pay or give away sensitive information like your Social Insurance Number, passwords or banking details.
The 2022 top three frauds with the highest levels of reported victim losses were investment scams, particularly cryptocurrency fraud, romance scams, and spear phishing.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is jointly managed by the RCMP, the Competition Bureau, and the Ontario Provincial Police.
Due to the overlapping nature of fraud and cybercrime, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre works closely with the RCMP‘s National Cybercrime Coordination Centre.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and National Cybercrime Coordination Centre are currently working together to develop a new national cybercrime and fraud reporting system. The System is in BETA operation and, once fully operational in 2023-2024, it will improve the public reporting of cybercrime and fraud incidents for operational and user experience purposes.

If you or someone you know is a victim of a fraud, contact your local police service to report the crime and also report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online or toll-free at 1-888-495-8501. If a financial loss did not occur, still report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. If you have information about deceptive marketing practices, report it to the Competition Bureau. Your reports are essential to identify linkages, catch criminals, and prevent further victimization.

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