Mass Marketing Fraud, known as fraud perpetrated through communication media, continues to target Canadians in a variety of forms.
In 2010, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received over 41,000 complaints from Canadians regarding Mass Marketing Fraud. Approximately 25% of the complainants failed to identify the fraud before parting with their money and reported a combined loss of $35,622.889.
By comparison, Manitobans made 2,600 complaints of which 382 were victimized, for a total monetary loss of $986,316.
It is estimated that only one in 20 victims report fraud to the police due to shame and embarrassment. The top three scams are lottery, service, and emergency. For more information on current scams and frauds visit antifraudcentre.ca or rcmp.ca.
