Latest news with #CanadianAnti-FraudCentre
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
North Vancouver RCMP warn of scam targeting seniors
North Vancouver RCMP have noticed a recent spike in fraud targeting seniors. On May 15, 2025, police say an older woman was contacted by someone impersonating a financial institution fraud investigator. The woman was told that fraudulent purchases had been made on her account and that the chips on her cards had to be checked. She then handed them over to someone who visited her residence and claimed to be from her bank. She reported the incident to the police and her financial institution once she realized there were $23,000 in fraudulent charges on her account. "We continue to repeat our warnings, but we don't mind being a broken record. We need would-be targets to know how to recognize these scams," said Cpl. Mansoor Sahak of the North Vancouver RCMP in a news release. "We also need friends, family, neighbours, anyone who interacts with the elderly or those who are new to Canada to tell them about these scams, how to recognize them, and what to do if they are contacted by a scammer." The release says eight similar frauds have been reported in North Vancouver. Investigators have determined that the suspects may be travelling throughout the Lower Mainland, but the investigation is still active and ongoing. Sahak said to remember that anyone can be a target and that fraudsters can be extremely convincing. Some tips provided by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to avoid being victimized: Don't be afraid to say no. Do your research to verify organizations are legitimate. Don't give out personal information such as your name, your address, your birthdate, your Social Insurance Number (SIN) or your credit card or banking information. Beware of upfront fees. Protect your computer. Be careful who you share images with. Protect your online accounts with strong passwords and multi-factor authentication. Recognize spoofing, which is used to mislead victims and convince them they are communicating with legitimate people, companies and organizations. The RCMP urges people to contact their local police or call 911 if they have been the victim of a scam. They also point to scam reports on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
North Vancouver RCMP warn of scam targeting seniors
North Vancouver RCMP have noticed a recent spike in fraud targeting seniors. On May 15, 2025, police say an older woman was contacted by someone impersonating a financial institution fraud investigator. The woman was told that fraudulent purchases had been made on her account and that the chips on her cards had to be checked. She then handed them over to someone who visited her residence and claimed to be from her bank. She reported the incident to the police and her financial institution once she realized there were $23,000 in fraudulent charges on her account. "We continue to repeat our warnings, but we don't mind being a broken record. We need would-be targets to know how to recognize these scams," said Cpl. Mansoor Sahak of the North Vancouver RCMP in a news release. "We also need friends, family, neighbours, anyone who interacts with the elderly or those who are new to Canada to tell them about these scams, how to recognize them, and what to do if they are contacted by a scammer." The release says eight similar frauds have been reported in North Vancouver. Investigators have determined that the suspects may be travelling throughout the Lower Mainland, but the investigation is still active and ongoing. Sahak said to remember that anyone can be a target and that fraudsters can be extremely convincing. Some tips provided by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to avoid being victimized: Don't be afraid to say no. Do your research to verify organizations are legitimate. Don't give out personal information such as your name, your address, your birthdate, your Social Insurance Number (SIN) or your credit card or banking information. Beware of upfront fees. Protect your computer. Be careful who you share images with. Protect your online accounts with strong passwords and multi-factor authentication. Recognize spoofing, which is used to mislead victims and convince them they are communicating with legitimate people, companies and organizations. The RCMP urges people to contact their local police or call 911 if they have been the victim of a scam. They also point to scam reports on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
Calgary Herald
30-04-2025
- Calgary Herald
'Everyone is vulnerable': Cybersecurity 'hygiene' tips for World Password Day
Article content With online security lapses costing Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars every year, people are warned to protect themselves from cybercriminals as they become more nefarious amid continually evolving technology. Article content As World Password Day lands on May 1 this year, Postmedia spoke with experts about the importance of good cybersecurity and password practices. Article content Article content 'Cybercriminals are using generative AI to launch hyper-targeted phishing campaigns and brute-force attacks that are more convincing and more dangerous than ever,' said Zelvin. Article content In Canada, fraud and cybercrime cost victims more than $638 million in 2024, an increase from $578 million the year prior according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Article content 'I haven't seen any Hallmark cards that say happy World Password Day,' said Tom Keenan, a cybersecurity expert and professor at the University of Calgary's School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. Article content Article content Most people frown when they see the word 'password,' he says. Article content 'They remember the time they forgot their password, or the time they wrote it down somewhere underneath their keyboard and somebody hacked them,' said Keenan. Article content Said Zelvin: 'Everybody hates passwords, so do I … I lose my mind, because they're just everywhere.' Article content However, passwords are becoming a bigger issue for cybersecurity and fraud, as bad actors look to nab the keys to people's lives. Article content 'Why hack in when you can log in?' Zelvin posed. '(Hackers) don't have to install malware … the detection is a lot harder, because it looks like you.'
Globe and Mail
15-04-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Poilievre promises crackdown on scammers who target seniors
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is pledging new measures to protect seniors from financial scams, including forcing banks and cellphone companies to do a better job detecting fraud. Mr. Poilievre made the promise in Montreal Tuesday, saying banks and telecom firms must do better when it comes to thwarting scam attacks. 'Fear of scams is a serious source of anxiety for Canadian seniors. A new Conservative government will protect seniors and bring peace of mind to their families by forcing banks and telecom companies to up their game and stop the scam before it happens, not after,' he said in a press release announcing the promise. Mr. Poilievre says if his party forms government on April 28, he'd require banks and cellphone companies to implement real-time flagging and blocking of suspicious activity and mandate a 24-hour transaction delay for high-risk transactions on seniors' accounts – or on the accounts of anyone else who requests such protection. He says he'd also impose a mandatory minimum one-year jail sentence for fraud over $5,000, three years for fraud over $100,000, five years for fraud over $1-million and minimum fines of ten times the amount defrauded and impose penalties of up to $5-million per violation for willful neglect for failure to implement adequate scam prevention tools. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says Canadians lost $638-million to fraud in 2024, but only five to 10 per cent of fraud is actually reported. Last month, U.S. authorities charged 25 Canadians in connection with a so-called grandparent scam operated out of Montreal-area call centres that allegedly defrauded elderly Americans out of more than US$21-million.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
Yellowknife woman warns of cryptocurrency scams after losing $26K
A Yellowknife woman says she is out $26,000 due to a cryptocurrency scam that involved a fake news story. The woman said she wanted to tell her story to warn others of the kinds of deceptive fraudulent activities that exist online and how scammers are impersonating trusted institutions like news outlets to lure unsuspecting victims. N.W.T. residents have reported losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to various scams over the past four years, with a particularly large jump in 2021 amid the pandemic. Jeff Horncastle, client and communications outreach officer for the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, told CBC News in an earlier interview that since COVID-19, there has been an increase in financial crimes, particularly fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. In another earlier interview with CBC News, Kwasi Boakye-Boateng, a research associate with the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity, said artificial intelligence has also made scams harder to detect. CBC News granted the woman confidentiality, due to concern she could be targeted in the future by more scammers. Jeff Horncastle, client and communications outreach officer for the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, says only a small percentage of fraud victims report it to the authorities. (Luke Carroll/CBC) Fake news stories The woman says she saw — and is still seeing — a number of what she now knows are fake news stories pretending to be from CBC, often featuring someone talking about investing in a cryptocurrency scheme. Last summer, she saw many of them featuring fake interviews with former prime minister Justin Trudeau, former finance minister Chrystia Freeland and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, encouraging people to invest in cryptocurrency. She said she was skeptical until she saw Singh supposedly interviewed in one around July 2024, and then decided to reach out to the featured company. This is not a CBC News article — but it's built to look like one, and it aims to get people to invest in cryptocurrency scams. A Yellowknife woman says scams like this one cost her $26,000. (CBC) A spokesperson for CBC News said there has been an alarming rise in fake ads and news stories appearing online and on social media platforms. "CBC is committed to fighting disinformation, which deliberately misleads the public and puts at risk their trust in legitimate media outlets," wrote Kerry Kelly. "This is an increasingly difficult task however, hindered by the rise in AI-generated disinformation and the prevalence of fake ads found on social media platforms." An screenshot of the Facebook account Finlake Ltd. A Yellowknife woman says she lost $26,000 after contacting this company and being told to invest in cryptocurrency. (Luke Carroll/CBC) The woman said when she first got in touch with the company, called Finlake Ltd., they gained her trust. CBC News found a Facebook page for Finlake Ltd. and attempted to email and call them for comment. The number was not in service and the email was undeliverable. The woman said she started by investing just $350, because she is an immigrant who wanted to send money to friends and family back home. "At the beginning, whoever talked to me was very, very friendly, very easy to communicate [with] and giving lots of information and giving confidence," she said. "I even asked him directly, 'Is this company real?' And he said, 'Yes, yes I'm working here.'" But quickly the company began asking her to increase the amount of money she was investing. "Then he told me just $350 will not work, I will have to put more [in] to get more benefit out of it," she said. Madam, as long as you don't wanna speak to me — it is still my duty as risk officer to save the trading account. You have [$36,000] that are under the risk due to unpredictable geopolitical environment - Message to the woman from the fake crypto investor The red flags They communicated often through WhatsApp, and occasionally on the phone. There were some red flags, she said — the crypto company tried to help her create a wallet, a software that stores the virtual currency that the user invests in. There are several legitimate companies that offer this service, but none would work with this particular company. "So I was a little suspicious about it," she said. Eventually, a wallet was set up for her by the man working for the cryptocurrency company she was investing in. To get the currency, she needed to purchase it through her bank. She sent an eTransfer from her Scotiabank account, but when she made the request, she was asked to come into the bank to meet with the manager. The request, she explained, set off some sort of security alert. She said the bank manager had security personnel on the phone and was talking to them on a headset, and was relaying what they would say to her. What the manager said was that they didn't recommend she do this, but she said they wouldn't tell her why, leaving her confused. "They did not say, 'This is fraud, you shouldn't,'" she said. She told the bank to allow the transactions. "That is where I made a mistake then, I realize that, but however, my concern is if there are banks where we trust and put money in, they should also advise us that this is the case, you might not know but we are telling you that." A spokesperson for Scotiabank sent an emailed statement in response to questions on its policy informing clients of suspected fraud. "Scotiabank takes cases of fraud seriously and continues to educate clients to take precautions when being asked to transfer funds to ensure they are dealing with a legitimate source," wrote Katie Raskina. "We advise clients to never share passwords, authorize unknown or unexpected requests, or grant account access to any individual, including family or friends and to double check before acting on messages or requests that do not align to regular or expected dealings with the Bank." The RCMP detachment in Yellowknife in March 2025. The RCMP confirmed they are investigating a cryptocurrency scam involving a $26,000 loss. (Luke Carroll/CBC) Pushy messages Eventually, the woman had invested thousands of dollars, but the people involved said it wasn't enough money and that her account was at risk of collapse if she didn't invest more. In her report to the RCMP she detailed some of the messages she received. "Madam, as long as you don't wanna speak to me — it is still my duty as risk officer to save the trading account. You have [$36,000] that are under the risk due to unpredictable geopolitical environment," the message from the crypto investor read, referencing the amount in her account that had purportedly grown from the $26,000 she invested. "You can think all you want, but with all the respect it's a non-sense to say goodbye to 36k because you are busy." The messages got more pushy. "I don't expect anything from you, just stop treating me like I am harassing you when I am trying to help." "We need extra 4500$ into your portfolio to maintain the temporary drawdown cause by the Middle-east escalation. Those types of things happen. "You must be extremely rich to treat your $36,000 so nonchalantly." In October 2024, communication stopped and her account and wallet, stopped functioning. She said she's more or less accepted that the money is gone, although she said she has reported the incident to the RCMP and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The RCMP confirmed by email that it has an active investigation into a cryptocurrency scam of this amount that was reported on Feb. 19. How to avoid Scotiabank's spokesperson also sent a link for how to avoid cryptocurrency scams. "Cryptocurrencies are legal, but they're not generally overseen by governments, nor are they centralized. Individuals or organizations can access cryptocurrency easily and make transactions while hiding their identities, making it an extremely vulnerable tool for cybercrime," the website reads. The website encourages people investing in crypto to use reputable platforms, such as apps that can be downloaded on Apple or Google Play. It also says to watch out for parties that promise large returns and to beware of messages that are urgent in tone.
