Cybercrime is on the rise in our region according to stats from Provincial Police.
They have crunched the numbers when it comes to online scams and it seems like cryptocurrency is the latest and greatest for scammers.
In the North West region, OPP note a 36 per cent increase in cybercrimes or cyber enabled crimes over a two year period.
In 2020, there were 95 reported instances of criminal activity.
This increased to 129 occurrences in 2021.
So far this year, there have been 55 reports to police surrounding cyber-related fraud plus any ongoing investigations with some individuals losing over $50,000.
Police stress actual figures are likely much higher as only 5% of frauds are ever reported.
A reminder, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
To learn about ways to protect yourself from scams and frauds, the OPP encourages community members to stay educated on fraud prevention.
Information on cryptocurrency can be found here
If you are the recipient of a fraudulent call, text or email, or if you’ve been a victim of a fraud, you are encouraged to report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by calling 1-888-495-8501 .
