20.4°C Vancouver

Mar 19, 2021 8:39 PM -

Victims lose $2M in cryptocurrency frauds, Vancouver police warn scams more frequent

Share On
victims-lose-2m-in-cryptocurrency-frauds-vancouver-police-warn-scams-more-frequent
Police say cryptocurrency scams cost victims in the Vancouver-area about $2 million in just one week and investigators believe the frauds are becoming more common. (Photo - Vancouver Police/Twitter)

Police say cryptocurrency scams cost victims in the Vancouver-area about $2 million in just one week and investigators believe the frauds are becoming more common.

Vancouver police Const. Tania Visintin says she knows of at least four active cases where large amounts of money have been lost.

She says a single victim was defrauded of more than $500,000 in a separate case last year when suspects pretending to be Service Canada representatives convinced them their Social Insurance Number had been compromised.

Visintin says police believe the number of scams is growing and the total is under-reported, perhaps because victims feel shame or are afraid to ask for help.

Police say victims are typically lured in with promises that they will be a part of an opportunity to make money or convinced they will be doing a friend or a romantic interest a favour by purchasing cryptocurrency for them.

Because cryptocurrency frauds increasingly involve investment or romance scams, Visintin says family members should share details with their relatives to ensure everyone is informed.

"Another unfortunate trend we are noticing is that victims tend to be of East Asian descent," Visintin told a news conference Friday.

There's no hard evidence about why members of the community are being targeted, Visintin said. Not all victims are from that community, but she said language barriers or fear of authorities may play a part.

Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency, like Bitcoin, that is essentially an online version of cash.

Frauds using cryptocurrency are challenging to investigate, said Visintin, because suspects are often based outside Canada and mask their identity through sophisticated, protected online connections, making it difficult to locate and identify them.

Vancouver Police on Twitter:

#VPDNews: Vancouver Police are warning the public about a surge in cryptocurrency scams after local victims lost close to $2 million over a one week period alone. http://ow.ly/f9hW50E3rfZ

Latest news

b-c-minister-bowinn-ma-tells-of-frightening-incident-at-her-constituency-office
BCJun 27, 2025

B.C. minister Bowinn Ma tells of 'frightening' incident at her constituency office

British Columbia's Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma says there was a "frightening" security incident at her constituency office in North Vancouver early Friday. Ma says in a statement that all meetings and appointments at the office have been cancelled for the day. Her statement says that thankfully, nobody was injured, and she appreciates the concern expressed by community members. Ma doesn't describe the incident and says due to an active police investigation, she won't be able to provide more details about what happened. She says she wants to thank the officers who responded to the inciden
trump-terminating-trade-talks-with-canada-over-digital-tax
WorldJun 27, 2025

Trump 'terminating' trade talks with Canada over digital tax

U-S President Donald Trump says he is immediately ending all trade talks with Canada. The sudden termination is over Canada's plan to go ahead with its digital services tax on big U-S tech companies that do business here. The tax is set to take effect Monday but would be retroactive for the past three years, leaving U-S companies with atwo-billion-dollar U-S bill due at the end of the month. Trump says Washington will notify Canada about new tariff rates within the next week.
surrey-sikh-games-canada-2025-begin-at-tamanawis-park
BCJun 27, 2025

Surrey: Sikh Games Canada 2025 begin at Tamanawis Park

The Sikh Games Canada in Surrey began yesterday, June 26th. During the first days games, some interesting field hockey competition was witnessed in the under-10 category. Although the senior teams had also taken to the field this morning. The event, which started on Thursday, has not only the competition of different categories of field hockey as its main attraction, but also soccer, wrestling, volleyball, Gatka event, cultural performances etc. are also attracting people.Organizers say that this event, which started as a field hockey tournament in 2008, has now become one of the largest multi
canada-may-cut-student-visas-further
CanadaJun 27, 2025

Canada may cut student visas further

The Canadian government may cut student visas further. Immigration Minister Lina Diab is set to launch a consultation on immigration targets this summer, with a focus on student visas. This comes after the federal government last year announced a cap on study permits and a gradual reduction in the number of student visas. A spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says the government expects schools to only accept students they can support by providing housing and other services. Meanwhile, the main opposition Conservatives are already in favor of this cut, with the pa
big-trade-deal-to-be-signed-soon-between-washington-and-new-delhi-trump
WorldJun 27, 2025

Big trade deal to be signed soon between Washington and New Delhi: Trump

US President Donald Trump says that a big trade deal is going to be signed soon between Washington and New Delhi. He said this at the White House. Trump said that recently America has signed a trade deal with China and now a big trade deal is going to be signed with India as well. He said that everyone wants to deal with us. Trump said that we will have a very big deal with India. The President also said that the White House will not make a deal with every country. Trump said that to some we are just going to send a letter saying thank you very much, you will have to pay 25 to 45 percent t

Related News