Saskatchewan RCMP say in a four month span northern Saskatchewan victims have suffered approximately $5.3 million dollars in financial fraud losses.
The RCMP are issuing a warning after receiving 57 reports between December 1st last year and March 31st.
They say scammers are contacting victims by phone, email and social media and claim they have an investment opportunity or that they can return the funds the victim lost in a previous investment scam.
The most common scams include the grandparent scams, investment fraud with links on social media ads to steal investments, the payment scam where they pose as a legitimate company or government agency demanding money and then payment is through cryptocurrency or a gift card.
The RCMP says if you think you may have been a victim of a scam immediately contact your financial institution to see if they can stop payments and file a police report as soon as possible which gives victims their best chance to have transfers frozen, cancelled or reversed by other banks and other service providers.
Some warning signs of investment fraud may include the following:
- Investment opportunities with higher-than-normal returns
- Unsolicited telephone, email or social media investment offers
- Pressure to send money quickly/urgently
- Suspicious messages from a trusted source, like a “bank” or “family member”
- Cryptocurrency investments that are not registered with provincial or national securities regulators
- Contact pages that include an illegitimate address
