What to Do If You’re a Victim of Fraud in Canada: Step-by-Step Guide

1. Stop Further Losses

1. If anyone is in immediate danger, if threats are being made, or if a crime is currently in progress, call 911.

2. Stop communicating with the suspected fraudster. Do not send more money, cryptocurrency, gift cards, verification codes or identity documents.

3. Immediately contact the bank, credit union, credit-card issuer, cryptocurrency platform or payment service used for the transaction. Use the telephone number on the back of your card, inside the official app or on the institution’s official website.

4. Ask the financial institution whether the payment can be stopped, recalled or disputed. Request that compromised cards, accounts and online-banking access be blocked or secured.

5. Change affected passwords and PINs. Begin with your email account and financial accounts. Use unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication.

6. Preserve evidence. Keep copies of emails, text messages, letters, documents, websites, advertisements, usernames, telephone numbers, receipts, cryptocurrency addresses, payment records and courier information.

7. Write down what happened while it is fresh in your memory. Record the dates, amounts, communication methods and information you disclosed.

8. Do not pay anyone who guarantees that they can recover the money. Recovery services requesting advance payments may be another fraud attempt.

2. Contact Your Bank or Payment Provider

Contact every financial institution or payment provider involved as soon as possible.

Use only contact information obtained from the institution’s official website, mobile application, bank statement or the back of your card. Do not use a number or link supplied by the suspected fraudster.

Ask the institution to:

• Block or replace compromised debit and credit cards.
• Secure or temporarily restrict affected accounts.
• Reset online and telephone banking credentials.
• Investigate unauthorized transactions.
• Attempt to stop or recall recent transfers where possible.
• Explain the institution’s dispute and reimbursement process.
• Add additional identity-verification precautions to your account.
• Provide a case or reference number.

If the payment was made through a cryptocurrency exchange, wire-transfer company, money-transfer service, online marketplace or gift-card issuer, report it to that provider immediately. Provide the transaction number, wallet address, receipt and police file number where available.

Continue monitoring all bank, credit-card and investment accounts for further unauthorized activity. Keep written records of every conversation, including the date, representative’s name and case number.

If the financial institution does not resolve your complaint, follow its formal complaint-handling process. Federally regulated banks are required to maintain a complaint process.

3. Protect Your Identity

1. Change passwords for your email, financial, government, shopping and social-media accounts. Do not reuse passwords.

2. Enable multifactor authentication wherever available. Never share a one-time security code with someone who contacts you.

3. Contact organizations where accounts may have been opened or changed without authorization. Ask them to close fraudulent accounts and provide written confirmation.

4. Contact Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. Request your credit reports, review them for unfamiliar accounts or inquiries and ask about placing fraud alerts on your files.

5. If your Social Insurance Number may have been used fraudulently, report it to Service Canada. A new SIN is not normally issued merely because the number was exposed; Service Canada generally requires evidence that it was used fraudulently.

6. If your CRA account or tax information was affected, report the incident to the Canada Revenue Agency and request protections on your account.

7. Report lost, stolen or fraudulently used passports, immigration documents, driver’s licences, health cards and birth certificates to the issuing government organization.

8. If you suspect unauthorized mail forwarding or missing financial mail, contact Canada Post.

9. Contact affected telephone, internet and utility providers if accounts may have been opened or changed using your identity.

10. Continue checking your credit reports, government accounts, financial statements and mail for additional misuse.

4. Protect Your Credit

Contact both major Canadian credit bureaus. Information may appear in one credit file but not the other.

Equifax Canada
Telephone: 1-800-465-7166
Website: https://www.equifax.ca/personal/contact-us/
Fraud-alert information: https://www.equifax.ca/personal/education/identity/articles/-/learn/how-can-i-place-a-fraud-alert-on-my-equifax-credit-report/

TransUnion Canada
Telephone: 1-800-663-9980
Fraud-victim resources: https://www.transunion.ca/assistance/fraud-victims-resources
Consumer disclosure and fraud-warning service: https://secure-ocs.transunion.ca/secureocs/home.html

Ask each credit bureau to:

• Provide your consumer credit report.
• Place a fraud alert or potential fraud warning on your file.
• Investigate unfamiliar accounts, addresses or credit inquiries.
• Explain how to dispute incorrect or fraudulent information.

Continue reviewing both reports because fraudulent accounts may not appear immediately.

5. Consumer-Protection Resources

Contact the consumer affairs office for your province or territory if the incident concerns a seller, contractor, online purchase, service agreement, unfair business practice or consumer transaction.

Federal, provincial and territorial consumer affairs offices:
https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/office-consumer-affairs/en/federal-provincial-and-territorial-consumer-affairs-offices

For false or misleading advertising, deceptive telemarketing or other deceptive marketing practices, submit information to the Competition Bureau:
https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/en/contact-competition-bureau-canada/complaint-form

For complaints involving a bank or federally regulated financial institution, begin with the institution’s formal complaint process:
https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/complaints/file-complaint-financial-institution.html

These consumer complaints do not replace reporting criminal fraud to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

6. Employment and Immigration Fraud

Employment fraud may involve fake job offers, counterfeit employment letters, fraudulent cheques, requests to purchase equipment, advance fees or demands that applicants transfer money.

A legitimate employer should not require an applicant to return part of a cheque, purchase gift cards, receive and forward money, use a personal bank account for company transactions or pay for a job.

Preserve the job posting, offer letter, email headers, interview messages, telephone numbers, payment instructions and the names used by the recruiter. Report financial losses to your financial institution, local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Immigration, visa or citizenship fraud:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/protect-fraud/report-fraud.html

Suspected immigration fraud may be reported to the CBSA Border Watch Line:
Telephone: 1-888-502-9060
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/bwl-lsf-eng.html

If an immigration representative may have committed fraud, notify IRCC and complain to the representative’s regulator, such as the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants or the applicable provincial or territorial law society.

Temporary foreign workers experiencing abuse can contact the Service Canada confidential tip line:
Telephone: 1-866-602-9448

Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline:
Telephone: 1-833-900-1010

Call 911 when someone is in immediate danger.

Official Contacts and Telephone Numbers

Emergency police, fire or ambulance: 911

Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre:
1-888-495-8501
Monday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–4:45 p.m. ET, excluding holidays
https://reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca/

Equifax Canada:
1-800-465-7166
https://www.equifax.ca/personal/contact-us/

TransUnion Canada:
1-800-663-9980
https://www.transunion.ca/assistance/fraud-victims-resources

Service Canada – suspected SIN misuse:
1-866-274-6627
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/sin/fraud-data-breaches.html

Canada Revenue Agency – scam or identity-theft reporting:
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/scams-fraud/report-scam.html

Passport Program – lost or stolen Canadian passport:
1-800-567-6868
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/lost-stolen-inaccessible-damaged-found.html

CBSA Border Watch Line:
1-888-502-9060
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/security-securite/bwl-lsf-eng.html

Temporary Foreign Worker confidential tip line:
1-866-602-9448

Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline:
1-833-900-1010