Nova Scotians scammed out of millions of dollars

The RCMP is reporting Nova Scotians lost more than $2.5 million to scammers last year.

In a recent news release, police said the figure, provided by the Canadian Antifraud Centre, represents a 331 per cent increase over the more than $790,000 in losses reported in 2020. It marks the highest yearly reported financial losses in the fraud centre’s history, police said.

The report highlighted 10 common scams and 690 different incidents that were reported in 2021, which resulted in 303 people becoming victims of fraud.

The most common type of fraud was extortion, with 194 reported incidents and 37 victims losing a total of $311,229.

Out of the 10 most common scams, service-related scams cost Nova Scotians the most money, as a total of 49 victims lost $729,250 to scammers in 2021.

Scams involving merchandise claimed the largest number of victims in 2021, as 86 Nova Scotians lost $51,207 to those types of scams.

RCMP suggest residents do not give personal or financial information to strangers or unexpected callers and never act immediately when pressured to make decisions.

Police also suggest residents should never send cryptocurrency or gift cards for payment.

Government agencies or police forces will never pressure individuals to pay money or ask for gift cards or cryptocurrency for payment, the RCMP noted.