An alarming number of Canadians continue to be victims of fraud.
And the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and Lethbridge Police are shedding light on how fraud is impacting residents.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, in 2023, Canadians lost $567 million to fraud, an increase of $37 million from 2022.
Despite that, a shockingly low number of frauds are actually reported.
“Only about five to ten per cent,” said Sgt. Kevin Talbot with the LPS economic crimes unit.
Lethbridge Police say there are a number of reasons why the crimes go unreported, including embarrassment from those who have been taken advantage of.
“And just simply, it happens so frequently that a lot of individuals think that this is just the way it is, and they have to expect to be a victim at some point in time,” added Talbot.
According to police, seniors were once one of the largest age groups being targeted, but now people of all ages appear to be falling victim to scams.
“It can range from a 14-year-old youth all the way up to someone who is a senior that is being taken advantage of,” said Talbot.
Police say they are seeing a massive increase in investment frauds involving cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.
“They’re investing in cryptocurrency without actually doing their homework to find out that they’re actually investing with a firm that’s registered in Canada, and then they’re taken advantage of and then they’re losing their entire investment,” said Talbot.
If you’re looking into investments like cryptocurrency, you can visit the Canadian Security Administrators website, and if you’ve been the victim of fraud you can report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.