(file photo)

By Susan McNeil

Fraud

Prince Albert RCMP investigating over $5 million in northern fraud cases

May 21, 2025 | 11:51 AM

It took scammers four months to defraud multiple northern Saskatchewan residents of more than $5 million which has led the RCMP to issue a warning to the public.

An officer with the RCMP’s GIS section based in Prince Albert said that they are investigating 57 cases of financial fraud.

“The public needs to stay alert to fraud no matter where they are in the province. It’s important to keep an eye out because scams can happen anywhere and to anyone – scammers do not discriminate,” said Const. Christian Stroet, with the Prince Albert General Investigation Section. “We all need to listen to that little voice that tells you to walk away when something doesn’t feel right.”

The scammers use telephone, email and social media to promote investment opportunities or telling their targets that they can return the money the victim lost in a previous investment scam.

The most common frauds reported between December 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025 have used the following tactics:

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• Grandparent scams where the scammer pretends to be a grandchild or close relative of the victim in a crisis, needing immediate financial help.
• Investment fraud where the scammer claims to have investment opportunities and use links on social media ads, the names of popular celebrities or other well known figures to get money, often asking for cryptocurrency as a way to transfer funds.
• Payment scam where they pretend to be a real company or government agency and tell the target they are holding an item or an account is locked until payment is received. The money is often demanded through cryptocurrency or a gift card.

People who have fallen prey to one of the scams should contact their bank as quickly as possible to stop any ongoing payments and then file a police report so officers have the best chance possible to stop or reverse payments being made by bank or other service providers.

If you have been victimized and would like to report an alleged fraud, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm.

“Victims often feel ashamed, but it’s important to remember that scammers are incredibly skilled in what they do and will give a convincing pitch for how much money victims can make in a short amount of time if they invest. This is the full-time job of a scammer,” said Stroet.

Some warning signs of investment fraud may include the following:

• investment opportunities with higher than normal returns
• unsolicited phone, email or social media investment offers
• pressure to send money quickly/urgently
• suspicious messages from a trusted source, like a ‘bank’ or ‘family member’
• cryptocurrency investments that are not registered with provincial national security regulators.
• contact pages that include illegitimate address

“Financial fraud isn’t a simple scam. It’s complex with many layers so it may appear to be true,” said Stroet. “It is very unfortunate, as the funds used by the victim often represent most of their life savings, which they have been working years to accumulate. We do what we can to investigate but given the complexities and international aspects of these schemes, the likelihood of victims getting their money back is minimal. It’s still important to report these types of crimes because it identifies trends and provides police with the information they need to help stop fraudsters and help prevent others from becoming victims.”

Three investigations are currently being conducted by northern RCMP that show the types of fraud that are happening.

In one, the scammer created an investment opportunity ad and shared it one social media then called the victim and convinced them to send cryptocurrency through a fake platform controlled by the scammer.

After the victim could not get their money out from the platform, a second person involved in the scam pretended to be a recovery agent and took money from the same victim again. That person reported about $350,000 in loss.

A second case involved the scammer using a realistic investment opportunity ad on a website. A group of people pretended to be an online business and connected with the victim through the ad and convinced the victim to send them money through cryptocurrency. Again, once the victim tried to remove their money and could not, the scammers pretended to be a law firm that could recover the stolen money for a fee. That victim lost over $87,000.

Another victim was taken for $160,000 after sending e-transfers to be part of a supposed stock market investment opportunity.

Every month, the victim was given a monthly update on how much their money was growing until they were told their account was hacked and the money was gone.

If you believe you are a victim of fraud, please contact your local police at 310-RCMP. Report the scam call to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or through its website at https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social