Fraud unfortunately takes place all year long across Canada, but March is Fraud Prevention Month across the country. During March, police forces, businesses, and community organizations increase their efforts to educate the public about how fraud is committed and how to avoid being a victim.
According to the federal Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), there were 49,432 official reports of fraud across Canada in 2024. There were 34,621 victims of fraud in 2024, and $638 million of Canadians’ assets were lost to fraud during the year. Reported losses to the CAFC since 2021 have now surpassed $2 billion.
CAFC explains that with technologies like AI, fraudsters are constantly adapting their tricks to avoid being detected. This year for Fraud Prevention Month, CAFC, the federal Competition Bureau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), are focusing on the awareness and prevention of impersonation fraud. Impersonation fraud happens when fraudsters pretend to be trusted organizations, websites, and even another person to deceive people into their scams. This can lead to financial loss, identity theft, and other serious consequences.
The FPM campaign aims to equip Canadians with the tools to recognize, reject, and report fraud.
Recently, The Review was notified of an attempt at impersonation fraud by a local resident. Doreen Graham of Brownsburg-Chatham received a phone call from someone calling her Auntie who claimed to be her oldest nephew and to guess his name. Graham said I dont guess and the caller hung up. Although the caller in this situation pretended to be a nephew calling his Auntie, fraudsters frequently make a similar call claiming to be an endangered grandchild and in need of a large sum of money from their grandparent. Unsuspecting grandparents have fallen victim to this scam and have lost thousands of dollars. As a result, it is known as the Grandparent Scam.
Other forms of impersonation fraud can involve false romances or attempts to solicit money from businesses.
Every year,across Canada work together to ensure that fraud prevention is top of mind for consumers and businesses. This March, Canadians can join the fight by using#FPM2025to stay informed about the latest news on fraud.
In Eastern Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is conducting Fraud Prevention Month Activities. The Russell County OPP Detachment, in partnership with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Russell Township and the Embrun RBC Royal Bank branch are presenting a fraud prevention presentation for interested residents on Thursday, March 20. It takes place at 6 pm at the Russell Township municipal building at 717 Notre-Dame Street in Embrun. To register to attend, contact Erin McLean at RBC in Embrun at [email protected].
On Friday, March 7, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry OPP Detachment held a fraud awareness presentation at Mainville Your Independent Grocer in Alexandria.
During Fraud Prevention Month, S羶ret矇 du Qu矇bec is launching Op矇ration Code-Mot (operation code word for the public to discover ways of protecting themselves against fraudsters, including two-factor authentication).
According to the S羶ret矇 du Qu矇bec, the schemes and false pretenses used by fraudsters are numerous. However, there are often common elements that raise suspicions: fraudulent card, job offer, prize won, injured or distressed loved one, feeling of urgency, pressure, investment leading to a quick and easy gain, etc.
Op矇ration Code-Mot aims to encourage discussion about fraud and encourages individuals to use a secret code word with others in certain situations as a measure of protection against fraud, similar to how banks and other businesses requiring passwords use two-factor authentication.
The S羶ret矇 du Qu矇bec encourages citizens to use a 4D anti-fraud shield: discussing, detecting, reporting and discouraging fraud. The four points are:
Discussing fraud, in particular by agreeing on a secret code word with loved ones, and staying informed about it to be alert;
Detecting fraud, knowing what to do in the event of an unsolicited communication and resisting the sense of urgency to do due diligence;
Reporting fraud to law enforcement agencies, an essential step that allows them to investigate, make connections between files, target certain phenomena, etc.
Deter fraud through robust day-to-day measures, such as regularly checking statements and changing passwords.
For more details on Op矇ration Code-Mot, go to .
