Yukoners lost over $800K to fraudsters in 2024, more than previous two years combined

In 2024, Yukoners lost $803,277 to scammers, more than the previous two years combined and a dramatic leap from $12,456 lost only a few years prior in 2020, according to data from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. 

That data shows investment scams and spear phishing as the top methods used by fraudsters.

In Whitehorse, RCMP spokesperson Calista McLeod said those scams can be sophisticated operations. 

With investment scams, where victims believe they'll make a return on their money, McLeod said victims sometimes even receive a small return early on to encourage them to send more money.  

She says spear phishing, where scammers pretend to be from a legitimate source to convince businesses or individuals to send them money, preys on victims' emotions. 

"There's scams where people are getting emails that look like they are from the RCMP … demanding that people respond immediately, click on links," she said, adding that pressure can trigger a victim's reaction to follow the scammer's instructions.  

"The police don't email links to click on. The police will never ask somebody to pay a fine with gift cards," she said. 

McLeod said the best thing to do if someone calls out of the blue claiming to be a business, is to hang up and call the business back using a known number. 

She said if you do find yourself a victim of a scam to immediately report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Education helps

Knowing about the scams can also help to avoid them. 

In the fall of 2024, Whitehorse resident James Purnell's mother picked up a call from someone claiming to be with telecommunication company Telus. The person on the other end said a payment hadn't gone through and asked his mother for her banking information.

James' father had died a few months prior and took care of the finances. 

"So she thought 'oh yeah maybe it was on his card and it had gotten cancelled now'," James said. 

She provided the information on the credit card, but was told it didn't go through and they needed another one.

"They collected every card she had and racked them all up," James said. His mother lost thousands of dollars from that one call.

James' mother lives in B.C. but in March, Yukon resident Janet Purnell, James's ex-partner said she got a call from someone claiming to be with Telus. Janet is not a Telus customer and remembering what happened to James's mother, she knew what to expect.

"They had this fantastic cell phone opportunity for me," she said. "He's like we're offering you this opportunity because we can see you pay your bill on time every month in full and this is your reward for customer loyalty."

Shortly after she received another call from a Bell with a nearly identical script.

Janet admits that as a Bell customer she wouldn't have been as cautious if that call had come first.

"Everybody can and does get taken for these [scams]," she said. "Especially in the Yukon. Yukon pride is about being that easy going helpful person. That's these scams, they take advantage of your kind nature."

The data for Yukon is part of a feature for CBC's Marketplace that aired Friday. 

The Marketplace team joins professional scam busters as they crack into the networks of organized criminal groups, confront the fraudsters and expose how AI is making it so much harder to defend ourselves. Watch the full Marketplace episode any time on YouTube or CBC Gem.