Achi news desk-
Fraud of all kinds, especially online scams, is on the rise, keeping cyber experts like Terry Cutler busy – and worried.
“Obviously fraud is going to be on the rise because, especially when it comes to cyber crime, individuals are not aware of the risks,” he said.
On Wednesday, Quebec law enforcement chiefs released statistics showing that 37,000 cases of fraud were reported in the province, an increase of 15 percent in two years. According to the report, in the first three months of this year, Quebecers have lost $3 million in reported fraud.
“The Canadian Anti-Fraud Center tells us that more than 80 or 90 per cent of those crimes are not reported,” notes the director general of the Association of Chief Police Officers of Quebec, Didier Deramond.
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He says it’s because people are too embarrassed, or because companies don’t want to give the impression that they’re not safe.
According to Quebec police, while Montreal had the highest number of reported fraud cases last year at more than 10,000, the regions with the largest reported increase between 2022 and 2023 were Laval and the Mauricie at 20 percent , central Quebec at 17.3 percent and Montreal at 10.6 percent.
Deramond believes the gaps in rate increases across the province suggest the fraudsters are moving around, explaining “they try to clean up a region and when they’re done with it, they switch places.”
Jeff Horncastle of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center tells Global News that the trends are similar across the country and that the financial losses continue to rise – “$568 million in 2023, up from just over $530 million in 2022, and looking back to 2021 , $387 million.”
The Association of Chief Police Officers says three of the biggest scams – credit and debit card fraud, online fraud and identity theft – are being made more challenging with the misuse of artificial intelligence.
Scamming Cutler notes is a trillion dollar business with sophisticated organizations.
“It’s very difficult for law enforcement right now,” he notes, because they don’t have the trained staff to deal with it, and there are jurisdictional issues. “They must work closely with governments and telecommunications companies.”
The police say they are working on training and collaborating more with other agencies. Authorities are encouraging the public to report the crimes and be educated. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Center and Cutler’s company provide free information on how people can protect themselves.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
