Scams can happen nowadays through so many mediums; door to door, telephone, texting, email… the list goes on.
But knowing what is suspicious and how to avoid falling victim is key, and something that the OPP is pushing for more awareness of.
The most recent scam to come to light is a text message about a refund from the province around your license plate renewal and sticker fees, featuring a very clickable link to get your money back.
This is 100% not real or even legitimate.
According to numbers from the Ontario Provincial Police as well as the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) there are millions of dollars lost to fraudsters.
- Investment frauds represented $163 million in reported losses in 2021, over $33 million in 2020.
- Cryptocurrency payments to fraudsters jumped to $77 million in reported losses 2021, over $23 million in 2020.
- Spear phishing frauds (Business Email Compromise) represented $53 million in reported losses in 2021, over $30 million in 2020.
- Extortion frauds represented $17 million in reported losses in 2021, over $16.4 million in 2020.
- Service scams represented $11.6 million in reported losses in 2021, over $6.6 million in 2020.
- Phishing / Identity theft reports increased to 7,566 in 2021, versus 6,953 reports in 2020.
They report that 2021 was a historic year for frauds with losses totaling up to $379 million, a huge increase from $164 million in losses in 2020.
Ontario residents represented 37 per cent of victims, or $142 million gone to funding a fraud.
It is estimated that only 5% of victims report their frauds to law enforcement or the CAFC.
#kNOwfraud #showmetheFRAUD #BeScamSmart https://t.co/I0O0x3lwWy
— Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (@canantifraud) February 28, 2022
