The Saskatchewan RCMP is warning the public of an unusually high number of cryptocurrency-related scam calls across the province in 2022.
Swift Current reports 105 victims of cryptocurrency scams totaling more than $361,000.
Maidstone RCMP reported only 37 calls, but losses totaled more than $570,000.
Saskatchewan Crypto Co-ordinator Cast. Tyson Maxwell said scammers are often located in international locations or hiding behind nearly untraceable IP addresses, making it extremely difficult to investigate reports.
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“There are thousands of different cryptocurrencies and crypto companies on the market today. Some are legitimate companies, while others may have weak online security or may be outright frauds,” Maxwell said in a statement to the RCMP.
RCMP officers have said criminals are often pretending to be from a government agency, demanding payment of delinquent taxes or arrest warrants, or luring victims through fake investment opportunities.
“Once a crypto transaction is completed, it cannot be reversed,” Maxwell explained. “If an investment sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Scammers are also creating fake learning programs to persuade victims to send cryptocurrency. They demand that a victim sends money to trade cryptocurrency and learn about the profits from the business. Often, they claim that the first transfer never arrived and ask them to send it again.
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The RCMP also provided some red flags that can be used to identify cryptocurrency scams:
- Investment opportunities with above average returns
- Unsolicited telephone, email or social media investment proposals
- Displays urgency so you don’t miss out
- Suspicious messages from a trusted source such as a bank or family member
- Cryptocurrency investments that are not registered with provincial or national securities regulators
- Contact pages that contain an invalid address
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