(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Scams

Cryptocurrency scams on the rise around Maidstone, $570K lost in 2022

Jan 23, 2023 | 5:00 PM

Maidstone RCMP were busy in 2022 responding to different scams, many of which involved cryptocurrency.

In total, police received 37 reports of people being victimized by fraudulent calls, losing a combined $570,000. Swift Current RCMP, which also saw a large uptick in scams, received 105 reports of fraudulent calls, however, the total amount lost was much lower at $361,000.

There were three main scams that kept popping up during investigations.

The first involved a scammer pretending to be from a government agency, like the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or police, who demands payments for outstanding taxes or warrants for arrests.

The second focuses on people sending money to learn how to trade cryptocurrency and make money. The scammer asks the victim to pay so they can send learning materials through the mail, and in some cases, also asks for more money stating the first amount never arrived.

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The last scam involves victims being enticed by investment opportunities. Scammers encourage victims to invest from their personal savings and restrict all access to their accounts. The scammer then creates a fraudulent company online or compromises a victim’s digital wallet resulting in a complete loss of funds.

“There are thousands of different cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency companies in the market today. Some are legitimate companies, while others may have weak online security or are completely fraudulent,” said Const. Tyson Maxwell, one of two Crypto Coordinators for the Saskatchewan RCMP. “Investigating cryptocurrency fraud is complex as perpetrators are often at various international locations or hiding through hard-to-trace IP addresses.”

The RCMP states they have resources available to track and trace some transactions, but the longer they wait to get information, the worse the chances are they can do so. They added, in some circumstances, they may need to work with different departments and agencies.

If you believe you have been targeted by a scammer or have lost money as a result of fraud, you’re asked to call police as well as the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow