Sask. RCMP report major spike in financial fraud in northern communities

RCMP say they're seeing a major increase in financial scams targeting residents of northern Saskatchewan. 

After investigating 57 recent reports from victims in the area, police said approximately $5.3 million was stolen from victims in the region between December 2024 and March 2025, Saskatchewan RCMP said in a Wednesday news release.

Scammers are primarily contacting victims by email, phone or social media. Among other scams, they're claiming to have a special "investment opportunity" that a victim can join, or posing as lawyers or government officials claiming to help people recover funds from previous scams they've fallen for.

In the December 2024 to March 2025 period, investigators with the Prince Albert RCMP's general investigation section said the most common frauds were  investment frauds, payment scams or what are commonly called "grandparent scams" — where the fraudsters impersonate family members, typically grandchildren, and reach out to elderly victims saying they're in crisis and need money immediately.

The investment fraud scams, meanwhile, often involve luring victims into depositing money into fake websites the scammers claim track investments, but can only be accessed outside the formal financial system via cryptocurrency, RCMP said.

Celebrities and major public figures are commonly impersonated to fool victims in social media ads. Once deposited, the money is never returned.

With payment scams, the fraudsters typically pose as legitimate companies or government agencies, and tell victims that money is being withheld from them because of a bureaucratic or technical hurdle. They then demand personal information and payment through a cryptocurrency or gift card or order to receive the money, which never arrives.

How to spot, report scams

Saskatchewan RCMP say one victim in northern Saskatchewan lost $350,000 after falling for an "investment opportunity" they found through social media. The scammer convinced the victim to send cryptocurrency to a fake trading platform. After the victim was unable to retrieve any money from the platform, another scammer, claiming to be a recovery agency, convinced them to pay more money to recover their funds.

Another victim reported losing over $160,000 after falling for a fraudulent stock market opportunity. A scammer convinced them to send them money over e-transfer and provided them with fake financial reports for months, before suddenly claiming that they had been hacked and lost all of the money.

A third victim reported losing $87,000 in a similar fake business scam, this time sending cryptocurrency. They too were later contacted by another scammer posing as a fake law firm, charging them more money to recover their funds. 

RCMP say there are several red flags that may indicate an investment fraud. Unsolicited text messages or phone calls mentioning investment opportunities, especially ones that advertise suspiciously high returns, should be immediately considered fraudulent. 

Messages that claim to be from a trusted source, like a bank or family member, that ask for money urgently should also be treated with suspicion.

Cryptocurrency investment firms that aren't registered with provincial or national securities regulators, or that don't have legitimate addresses in their contact information, are also highly suspicious. 

Police say that if someone believes they've been scammed, they should immediately tell their bank to try to stop any outgoing payments, and should then file a police report. The sooner they do so, the more likely investigators will be able to freeze or reverse payments while they investigate the scam, RCMP said in their news release.

Any fraud should also be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or the federal agency's reporting website.