Fraud Prevention Month is a campaign held each March to inform and educate the public on the importance of protecting yourself from being a victim of fraud. This year’s theme is impersonation, and focuses on scams where fraudsters will claim to be government officials, critical infrastructure companies, and even law enforcement officials. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre will be sharing advice through their website, Facebook and Twitter pages.
Investment scams were the highest reported scams based on dollar loss in 2021. Victims of investment scams reported a total loss of $163.9 Million to CAFC. In most of these cases, the investment opportunities offer higher than normal, or true monetary, returns which often result in investors losing most, or all, of their money. The majority of the investment scam reports involve Canadians investing in crypto currency after seeing a deceptive advertisement. It typically involves victims downloading a trading platform and transferring crypto currency into their trading account. In most cases, victims are not able to withdraw their funds. It is very likely that many of the trading platforms are fraudulent or controlled by fraudsters. In addition to crypto trading scams, the CAFC also receives reports on suspected fraudulent Initial Coin Offerings.
Variations of Crypto Investment Scams
- The victim is approached on a dating or social…