There were 3,866 investment fraud victims reported in 2024, who collectively suffered a financial loss of $310.6 million, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC). These numbers include all types of investment fraud, not just online scams.
So far in 2025, Maude Blanchette, chair of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) Investment Fraud Task Force, estimated that there have already been about 3,000 cases reported. The official tally will be released by the CAFC in 2026.
Blanchette said the number of reported cases has levelled off since 2022, but added that scams tend to be severely underreported to begin with. According to the CAFC, just five to 10 per cent of fraud incidents are reported.
“It’s very scary because it means that it is only the tip of the iceberg,” Blanchette said.
I found this news report upsetting for a number of reasons. Assuming only 10 per cent of fraud incidents are being reported, the total annual losses would be over $3 billion. And perhaps double that if 10 per cent is too high. That’s a lot of money, and victims, for one country without a large population.
The thing is, as much as we can shake our heads at the foolishness of people who fall for some of the more obvious scams, I think we are all vulnerable. I even got scammed by one online retailer about fifteen years ago, but it was only for $10 so I didn’t feel too bad. And while most frauds are pretty transparent, I’ve known a couple of people who were fooled by operations that were really quite sophisticated. And with AI these scams are apparently getting even better. The bottom line is: even if you think you’re much too smart to fall for an online fraud, you probably aren’t. You just haven’t been caught yet.
What also bothers me is the inability, or unwillingness, of law enforcement to do much of anything about the problem (I won’t even mention the platforms who are basically accomplices in all this). It’s just too much work for authorities, or too difficult. I knew a lawyer who worked in the field twenty years ago and back then he told me that the police wouldn’t even investigate a complaint that was under $75,000.
I think we should take this kind of thing a lot more seriously, and while there may be jurisdictional issues I don’t see why it should be so hard to crack down on these people. As it is, they all know they can get away with it so it’s a problem that keeps getting worse. And as the numbers indicate, it’s a big problem now.
Alex Good 
yeah, ai is definitely making it even harder. all it has to do is fake chat via text for a couple of days and wham, people are giving up financial info almost without even realizing it.
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They’re becoming more sophisticated all the time, and with the amount of information they have they can really target the scams now to individuals. You just have to stick to not responding to anyone.
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…..
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👍
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That actually wasn’t me. It was Botstooge 5.0. He’s the botstooge that is armed with the nuclear bazooka…
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That’s OK. This blog is being run on AAA 3.1 so it’s just our AIs talking to each other now.
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I get a lot of scam texts especially ones that say ‘hi mum I’ve lost/broken/had stolen my phone, can you ring me back on this number’, I think a lot of people fall for that.
A few years ago our bank noticed Phil had spent £6000 in anApple Store in London, at the same time Phil was drawing out £20 in our corner shop 300 miles away, that was fun sorting that out! The bank wanted to blame us for giving our details to someone, I reckon it was someone working at their bank!
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Yeah, banks are total bastards when it comes to taking responsibility for anything.
I’ve never had any of those appeals from family members for money, but that’s because I guess whoever’s harvesting the data knows that I don’t have any kids. It’s amazing how much personal information these guys have on you. Basically everything.
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I’ve seen this happen close up. A lady at a grocery store on the phone obviously taking directions and being told to get cash. Cashier recognizes the scam, tries to reason with the lady, finally giving up and calling a manager. And the manager telling the cashier to just do what the lady says. And I want to be mad at the lady and at the manager, but it’s all just because I hate the scammer so much.
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These scammers can really hook people hard. I had a neighbour a few years back begging me to drive them to the bank (their car was in the shop) because they’d gotten some email telling them they had to go do something right away. From the way he described it I was sure it was a scam and told him so. And it was a scam. But the scammers had a lot of his personal info and this guy was just in a total panic. No talking him down.
And we all think we could never be “that guyu.” But these scammers are good. I’d never be so confident as to say it could *never* happen to me.
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And if (when) AI starts mimicking voices, everyone’s screwed. If they knew enough to connect two people, all they’d have to do is get one on the phone for a short conversation.
I haven’t instituted the “code word” in my family, but it’s just a matter of time until I do.
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Botstooge 5.0 is waiting for it too.
It suggests “God Emperor Bookstooge”…
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