How to report a crypto scam in Canada

• —Your local police, as soon as possible.
• —The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, online through its reporting system or by phone at 1-888-495-8501, Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4:45 pm Eastern time.
• —The exchange or platform you used to buy or send the crypto, through its official support channels.

The CAFC asks people to report even if they weren't a victim, for example after spotting a scam. It estimates that only 5% to 10% of fraud is reported, so every report adds to the picture investigators work from.

Crypto cases are investigated from transaction details, so gather them before anything gets deleted: the wallet addresses involved, the amounts and types of cryptocurrency, the transaction hashes, and the date and time of each transaction. These are the same details the FBI's IC3 asks crypto victims for.

Keep your messages with the scammer, the names and web addresses of any platform or app, and records of which exchange you bought the crypto on.

• —Promises of “guaranteed” or “risk-free” returns.
• —Pressure or urgency to send money.
• —Investment firms you can't find with your provincial securities regulator or the National Registration Search tool.
• —Someone you met on a dating site or social media who tries to educate you about, and convince you to invest in, cryptocurrency.
• —Being asked to open and fund a new crypto account, then send the crypto to a wallet they control.

The CAFC also notes that once money is sent, it's often transferred overseas and is very difficult to recover.

The CAFC warns that fraudsters may target you again with a promise to get your money back, including by posing as police or government officials. Its advice is direct: never pay an advance fee to obtain a refund. Canadians reported about $25.9 million lost to this kind of recovery fraud in 2025.

In 2025 the CAFC received more than 112,000 fraud reports, involving more than $704 million in reported losses. Investment fraud was the costliest category, with $351 million lost.

We trace stolen crypto for victims anywhere, including in Canada, and write the report police or a lawyer can act on, with every transaction hash and exchange deposit documented. We're forensic examiners, not a law firm, and we don't contact the exchange or the scammer for you. The intake review is free.