6 Biggest Scams That Ontarians Were Tricked By Last Year According To Provincial Police

It's no secret that during the pandemic, fraudsters have been doing the most to scam unsuspecting victims across Canada.

Ontario has seen its fair share of scams within the past few months, and according to provincial police, Ontarians have seen the most amount of cash coming out of their pockets compared to other Canadians.

Out of the rest of Canada, Ontario reported the largest amount of fraud loss and got hit with $142 million of the over $379 million in total reported losses in 2021. That’s nearly 40% of the grand total, ouch!

Acting Detective Sergent John Armit from the Ontario Provincial Police shared with Narcity via email the top six frauds Ontario residents fell for in 2021 that were reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, based on total dollar loss in the province.

6. Merchandise ($3,543,602.65)

Be careful who you buy discounted tickets from, as merchandise frauds can come in the form of fake company websites, resale sites, website pop-ups, or classified ad sites.

These kinds of frauds hit Ontarians the hardest as over 1,200 victims were affected by merchandise scams.

5. Service ($3,920,708.80)

Be wary of someone selling you faulty services!

These kinds of frauds can come in the form of air duct cleaning services, tech support, or in trying to help you with government documents online, where scammers may ask victims to hand over personal information.

4. Extortion ($7,438,920.32)

Fake emails claiming to be from law enforcement agencies like the RCMP or the Canadian Border Services Agency are examples of extortion scams, where someone may contact and accuse you of serious criminal charges that warrant jail time unless you pay up a sum.

Extortion frauds in Ontario had the highest number of reports with over 3,500 made to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre last year.

3. Romance ($25,535,728.32)

Have you heard of the Tinder Swindler?

Well, some romance scammers like Simon Leviev will get you to trust them before they later ask for money from you. Oftentimes, these fraudsters will engage in virtual relationships before attempting to swindle you.

2. Spear Phishing ($31,792,226.40)

Sometimes these con-artists will send emails impersonating as an employee, or request wire transfers from other workers within a company.

1. Investments ($57,445, 620.63)

Some investment scammers are hacking into Instagram accounts by sending phishing emails with links for fake Insta login pages. After they’ve taken over the IG profile, they’ll blackmail the user to record themselves promoting fake cryptocurrency platforms and encourage their followers to make a phony investment.

Armit also said that seniors were 33% more likely to lose their money compared to the rest of the population. Though, Armit expressed that the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is currently seeing more victims of cryptocurrency fraud with people under 60 years old.

"Many frauds are designed to play on a potential victim's emotions and get them to respond without thinking. They attempt to elicit responses based on panic, fear, desperation, election, and love which are often escalated by presenting situations requiring immediate action," Armit told Narcity.

In a press release announcing the launch of Fraud Prevention Month, the Ontario provincial police and Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recommended that those who are victims of fraud or scams can contact their local authorities or report to the centre directly.