Sask. RCMP report major spike in financial fraud in northern communities

Chris Edwards · CBC News

· Posted: May 22, 2025 4:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

RCMP say they're seeing a large summation successful fiscal scams targeting residents of bluish Saskatchewan. 

After investigating 57 caller reports from victims successful the area, constabulary said astir $5.3 cardinal was stolen from victims successful the portion betwixt December 2024 and March 2025, Saskatchewan RCMP said successful a Wednesday quality release.

Scammers are chiefly contacting victims by email, telephone oregon societal media. Among different scams, they're claiming to person a peculiar "investment opportunity" that a unfortunate tin join, oregon posing arsenic lawyers oregon authorities officials claiming to assistance radical retrieve funds from erstwhile scams they've fallen for.

In the December 2024 to March 2025 period, investigators with the Prince Albert RCMP's wide probe conception said the astir communal frauds were  concern frauds, payment scams oregon what are commonly called "grandparent scams" — wherever the fraudsters impersonate household members, typically grandchildren, and scope retired to aged victims saying they're successful situation and request wealth immediately.

The concern fraud scams, meanwhile, often impact luring victims into depositing wealth into fake websites the scammers assertion way investments, but tin lone beryllium accessed extracurricular the ceremonial fiscal strategy via cryptocurrency, RCMP said.

Celebrities and large nationalist figures are commonly impersonated to fool victims successful societal media ads. Once deposited, the wealth is ne'er returned.

With outgo scams, the fraudsters typically pose as morganatic companies oregon authorities agencies, and archer victims that wealth is being withheld from them due to the fact that of a bureaucratic oregon method hurdle. They past request idiosyncratic accusation and outgo done a cryptocurrency oregon acquisition paper oregon bid to person the money, which ne'er arrives.

How to spot, report scams

Saskatchewan RCMP accidental 1 unfortunate successful bluish Saskatchewan mislaid $350,000 aft falling for an "investment opportunity" they recovered done societal media. The scammer convinced the unfortunate to nonstop cryptocurrency to a fake trading platform. After the unfortunate was incapable to retrieve immoderate wealth from the platform, different scammer, claiming to beryllium a betterment agency, convinced them to wage much wealth to retrieve their funds.

Another unfortunate reported losing implicit $160,000 aft falling for a fraudulent banal marketplace opportunity. A scammer convinced them to nonstop them wealth implicit e-transfer and provided them with fake fiscal reports for months, earlier abruptly claiming that they had been hacked and mislaid each of the money.

A 3rd unfortunate reported losing $87,000 successful a akin fake concern scam, this clip sending cryptocurrency. They excessively were aboriginal contacted by different scammer posing arsenic a fake instrumentality firm, charging them much wealth to retrieve their funds. 

RCMP say there are respective reddish flags that whitethorn bespeak an concern fraud. Unsolicited substance messages oregon telephone calls mentioning concern opportunities, particularly ones that advertise suspiciously precocious returns, should beryllium instantly considered fraudulent. 

Messages that assertion to beryllium from a trusted source, similar a slope oregon household member, that inquire for wealth urgently should besides beryllium treated with suspicion.

Cryptocurrency concern firms that aren't registered with provincial oregon nationalist securities regulators, oregon that don't person morganatic addresses successful their interaction information, are besides highly suspicious. 

Police accidental that if idiosyncratic believes they've been scammed, they should instantly archer their slope to effort to halt immoderate outgoing payments, and should past record a constabulary report. The sooner they bash so, the much apt investigators volition beryllium capable to frost oregon reverse payments portion they analyse the scam, RCMP said successful their quality release.

Any fraud should besides beryllium reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre astatine 1-888-495-8501 oregon the national agency's reporting website.