Police reveal the top 5 types of scams Torontonians are falling for
16,743 fraud reports received last year with losses of more than $368M: police
Toronto police have revealed the five most damaging frauds and scams in circulation in an effort to arm people with knowledge.
They say the top five frauds in the city are account takeovers, identity theft, confidence, cryptocurrency and online investment.
Finance Crimes Det. Dave Coffey said online investment scams are the most damaging, with more than $71.2 million in losses reported to Toronto police last year.
"Fraud is vastly under-reported. We believe the actual numbers to be 10 to 20 times higher," Coffey said.
In a news release on Wednesday, police said online investment scams often start as romance scams, in which fraudsters make contact with a victim through text or email, building a relationship over time.
"Once trust is established, they introduce a lucrative investment opportunity, convincing victims to transfer funds," the release added.
Coffey added in the release: "While Toronto Police receives an average of 45 fraud reports per day, we know this represents only a fraction of what's really happening as it is estimated that only five to 10 per cent of frauds are reported for various reasons."
Police said they received more than 16,700 reports of fraud last year with losses of more than $368 million but believe that number is under-reported because shame and embarrassment prevent victims from calling them.
With files from CBC News