Reporting a scam in Canada
First hour, in order
- Call your bank. Use the number printed on the back of your card, never a number you were given by the person who contacted you.
- Stop paying. No fee, tax or "release payment" ever unlocks money that does not exist.
- Screenshot everything before you delete an app, block a number or close an account.
- Then report using the routes below. Reporting is slower than the bank call, and less urgent — but it is what produces enforcement.
Canada splits fraud reporting between the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which gathers national intelligence, and your local police service, which investigates. Report to both — the CAFC cannot open a criminal file for you.
At the time of our last review the CAFC’s toll-free line was down for technical reasons and the centre was directing people to its online Fraud Reporting System.
Where to report
Also worth using
If your identity was used
CAFC identity fraud guidance is the route for identity misuse: new accounts opened in your name, credit taken out, documents copied.
What not to do
- Do not pay anyone to recover your money. No legitimate service charges an up-front fee to get stolen funds back, and people who have just been scammed are the primary market for recovery scams.
- Do not use contact details the scammer gave you — not the phone number, not the "support" chat, not a link in a message. Look the agency up yourself.
- Do not delete the evidence. Apps, chats, wallet addresses and transaction IDs are what make a report actionable.
- Do not send one more payment. This is where most of the largest losses happen.
Sources
- Report fraud and cybercrime. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Accessed 2026-09-06.
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre / RCMP. Accessed 2026-09-06.