Crypto scams cost Surrey residents $12M last year, police say

Residents of Surrey lost more than $15 million to cryptocurrency fraud in the past 14 months, according to police, who are warning people about how to spot the signs of a scam.

The Surrey RCMP say they received 229 reports of fraud involving cryptocurrency in 2023 with losses of more than $12 million. So far this year, there have been 50 reports with a combined cost to victims of $3.2 million.

The most common fraud is investment-related, the warning from Mounties says, explaining that people are targeted through social media, online ads, dating platforms, and phone calls.

"Using spoofed websites and mobile applications with fake trades and profits, the victims are encouraged to invest money on the investing platform. When the victim attempts to withdraw their investments, they are typically asked for more money for taxes and other fees," according to police.

"Eventually the scammer stops communicating with the victim and the victim realizes they have been defrauded of all the money they believed they were investing."

The detachment also says it has seen an uptick in job-related scams this year, with 18 reports received. In some of these scams, fraudsters pretend to be legitimate companies and ask job-seekers for payment for supplies or training.

"These fake jobs are often for reviewing products, websites or crypto trading and will request funds to be sent in cryptocurrency with promises to send money back to the victim," the warning says.

Rental scams where prospective tenants are asked for e-transfers of deposits, bail scams targeting grandparents and fraud involving forged bank drafts are also common.