How to Report a Scam in Canada - 2026 Complete Guide
- Michael Routhier
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Canadians lost over $638 million to fraud in 2024.
That's the number the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre officially recorded. And here's the part that should make your jaw drop: that's only what got reported. Most people who get scammed never report it at all.
Not because they don't want to. But because nobody ever told them how. Or where. Or what to do first.
That's what this post is for.
If you've just been scammed, or you think you might have been, bookmark this. It's the guide I wish everyone had before they needed it.
Quick Reference - Where to Report
(Save this. Come back to it.)
Type of Scam | Report To | Contact |
Any fraud | Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre | 1-888-495-8501 |
CRA impersonation | Canada Revenue Agency | 1-800-959-8281 |
Canada Post scam | Canada Post + CAFC | |
Online fraud / fake website | CAFC + Cyber Centre | |
Identity theft | Equifax + TransUnion | |
Investment fraud | Provincial securities regulator | Varies by province |
Start Here - What Kind of Scam Was It?
Where you report depends on what happened. Find your situation below and jump straight to that section.
Phone or text scam: fake CRA, Canada Post, your bank, or a government agency
Online or email scam: phishing, fake websites, e-transfer fraud
Investment scam: cryptocurrency, fake financial advisor, Ponzi scheme
Romance scam: social media, dating apps, someone you've never met in person
Identity theft: your SIN was used, credit was opened in your name
Got it? Good. Let's go.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre - Your First Call
No matter what kind of scam you experienced, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) should be one of your first contacts. They are the national hub for fraud reporting in Canada. Every report filed, no matter how small, feeds into a database that investigators use to identify patterns, track operations, and build cases.
Individual reports rarely lead to an individual investigation. That's the honest truth and it's worth knowing upfront. But aggregated reports absolutely lead to arrests. The CAFC has been instrumental in shutting down call centre fraud operations, romance scam networks, and CRA impersonation rings, because enough people reported enough detail to make a case possible.
How to report to the CAFC:
Phone: 1-888-495-8501 (Monday–Friday, 9 AM–4:45 PM ET)
What to have ready when you report:
The phone number, email address, or website involved
Screenshots of any messages or communications
Dates, times, and amounts if money was involved
Any names or usernames the scammer used
Reporting a CRA Scam
This one is worth its own section because it's the most common impersonation scam targeting Canadians right now and it ramps up significantly every spring after tax season.
Here's the short version of how to recognize it: the CRA will never call you demanding immediate payment. They will never ask you to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfer. They will never threaten you with immediate arrest. If someone on the phone is doing any of those things, they are not the CRA.
How to report a CRA scam:
Call the CRA's dedicated scam line: 1-800-959-8281
Report to the CAFC: 1-888-495-8501
If you paid anything: call your bank immediately before doing anything else
One thing worth knowing: if you receive a suspicious call claiming to be the CRA, you can always hang up and call the CRA directly at their official number to verify whether any actual correspondence was sent to you. Real tax issues come with written notices first. Always.
Reporting a Canada Post Scam
The fake Canada Post text message is everywhere right now. You know the one; "Your package is on hold. Click here to confirm your delivery address and pay a small fee."
The link goes to a convincing fake site that captures your credit card number. The package doesn't exist.
How to report:
Forward the scam text to 7726 (SPAM) - this reports it directly to your carrier
Report to Canada Post: canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/personal/support/reportfraud.jsf
Report to the CAFC: 1-888-495-8501
A simple rule that eliminates all Canada Post scam risk; never click a link in a text about a package. If you're expecting something, go directly to canadapost.ca and track it there. Type the address yourself. Don't click.
Reporting Online Fraud and Fake Websites
Got taken in by a fake website? Clicked a phishing link? Had money taken through a fraudulent online transaction?
Report to:
The CAFC first, they cover the broadest range of online fraud
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security for fake websites: cyber.gc.ca, they can action the removal of fraudulent Canadian-hosted sites
Your bank immediately if any money moved or card details were entered
If the scammer is based in the U.S., also file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov
To get a fake website removed from Google search results, use Google's Safe Browsing report tool: safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/
Report to Your Province
This is the step almost every other guide leaves out. Provincial consumer protection offices have real authority over businesses operating in their province, and some scams, particularly those involving fraudulent companies or contractors, fall under their jurisdiction.
Province | Office | How to Report |
Ontario | Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery | |
British Columbia | Consumer Protection BC | |
Alberta | Service Alberta | |
Quebec | Office de la protection du consommateur | |
Manitoba | Consumer Protection Office | |
Saskatchewan | Consumer Protection Division | |
Nova Scotia | Consumer Affairs | |
Other provinces | Search "[your province] consumer protection report fraud" | — |
Report to Your Bank - Immediately
If any money moved, or if you entered your card or banking details anywhere suspicious, call your bank immediately. Not tomorrow. Now!
What to say: "I believe I've been the victim of fraud and I need to speak to your fraud department immediately." Those words will get you to the right person faster than anything else.
What to ask for:
Flag the account for suspicious activity
Reverse any unauthorized transactions if possible
Freeze or cancel the card if card details were compromised
Dispute any charges you didn't authorize
Some banks will ask for a police report number before taking certain actions. If that's the case, file your police report (see below), get the number, and call them back.
File a Police Report
A lot of people skip this step because they assume the police won't do anything. And honestly? For individual scam cases, they often can't do much directly.
But here's why you do it anyway.
A police report number is often required by your bank to dispute fraud charges. It's required for identity theft recovery. It's required for insurance claims. And it becomes part of the aggregated data that helps law enforcement identify patterns across multiple victims of the same operation.
How to file:
Start with your local municipal police service's non-emergency line or online reporting portal
For RCMP jurisdictions (rural areas, some provinces): rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/online-services/report-crime
Keep your report number. Write it down. You'll need it.
If Your Identity Was Stolen
Identity theft requires a specific response sequence and the order matters.
Contact Equifax Canada to place a fraud alert on your credit file: 1-800-465-7166 or equifax.ca
Contact TransUnion Canada to do the same: 1-800-663-9980 or transunion.ca
File with the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501
File a police report - get that report number
Contact your bank and all financial institutions - flag every account
Contact Service Canada if your SIN was compromised: 1-800-206-7218
Contact the CRA to flag your tax account: 1-800-959-8281
Change all passwords and enable two-factor authentication on every important account
This is a marathon, not a sprint. Take it step by step. Document everything.
If You Already Sent Money
This is the section I most want you to read. Because this is where people freeze and freezing costs you time you don't have.
E-transfer: Call your bank immediately. Some e-transfers can be recalled if you act within hours. Do not wait.
Gift cards: Call the gift card issuer immediately; the phone number is on the back of the card. Keep the card and the receipt. Some issuers can flag and freeze the balance before it's used. It's not guaranteed, but it's worth trying.
Wire transfer: Call your bank to attempt a wire recall. The success rate drops quickly with time, so move fast.
Cryptocurrency: This is the hard one. Crypto transactions are essentially irreversible once confirmed. Recovery is extremely unlikely. Be very suspicious of anyone who contacts you claiming they can recover your crypto for a fee; that is almost always a second scam targeting people who've already been victimized.
What NOT to do: Do not pay any "recovery agent" who contacts you offering to get your money back. This is one of the most predatory follow-up scams out there, specifically targeting people who have already lost money and are desperate to recover it.
You're Not Stupid. You Were Targeted.
I want to be very clear about something before I close this out.
Scam victims are not naive or careless people. They are disproportionately people who are trusting, generous, and often dealing with something stressful in their lives; a tax deadline, a package they're waiting for, a new romantic connection, a financial decision they're trying to make carefully.
Scammers are professionals. They train for this. They test their scripts. They know exactly how to create urgency, how to bypass your natural skepticism, how to make something feel legitimate. The fact that it worked on you says nothing about your intelligence. It says something about how much effort they put into making it work.
The shame people feel after being scammed is one of the biggest reasons fraud in Canada is dramatically underreported. And underreporting lets the same operations keep running, targeting the next person.
Reporting a scam doesn't undo the harm. But it makes the next person harder to reach.
That matters. A lot.
FAQ - Quick Answers
How do I report a scammer's phone number in Canada?
Call the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501 or report online at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca. Include the phone number in your report. You can also block and report the number directly through your carrier.
Can I report a scam anonymously in Canada?
Yes. The CAFC accepts anonymous reports. You don't need to identify yourself to file.
What if the scammer is in another country?
Report to the CAFC regardless. If you know the scammer is U.S.-based, also file with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI at ic3.gov.
Does reporting a scam get my money back?
Not directly. But your bank may be able to reverse certain transactions if you act quickly. The CAFC and police reports are necessary steps for insurance claims and bank dispute processes.
What's the difference between the CAFC and local police?
The CAFC is the national fraud reporting hub, they track patterns and assist larger investigations. Local police handle jurisdiction-specific cases. Both reports serve different purposes. File both.
Have you ever reported a scam or decided not to, and wished later that you had? I'd genuinely like to know. The reporting process in this country is better than most people realize, but it only works if people use it. Drop your experience in the comments, and if this post helped you, share it with someone who might need it.
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