common scams in Canada
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The Ultimate Guide to the Greatest Scams in Canada

Scams in Canada are common. In fact, scams have been on a rise during the pandemic era. If you are moving to or have recently moved to Canada, beware of these most common and shocking scams targeting newcomers.

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I remember the rainy November morning when we landed in Canada in 2018. The following days were full of magic. We saw the snow (actually flurries) falling on the ground like magic. Strangers smiled and greeted us during our walks. Cars stopped for pedestrians waiting to cross the road. Pollution-free air and beautiful landscapes stole our hearts right away. It felt like walking into a utopia. A perfect land where nothing could go wrong. Scams in Canada? Impossible, we’d thought.

But we quickly learned that no place is perfect. Scams of all sorts are equally, if not more, common in Canada than they are anywhere in the world.

Here is a list of the most common scams targeting vulnerable immigrants and newcomers to Canada:


Immigration Scams

Immigration scams are extremely common. I, personally, know someone who fell for the scam and lost a lot of money.

The agents or the website will have you believe that not only can they guarantee your Permanent Residence in Canada but also get you a job.

Scammers use the prospect of living and working in Canada, to attract skilled workers. To gain the confidence of often well-educated professionals, they engage in a subtle and elaborate scam to obtain funds to pay for the immigration process. Usually their identity and credentials appear genine and legitimate. It involves a network of so-called recruitment agencies and immigration consulting firms, with individuals playing multiple roles such as recruiters, employers and immigration representatives located in different parts of the country.

Some of the reported cases involving immigration scam include:

Victim wanted to get a study permit to attend university in Canada. Scammer found her through social media and said he was an immigration attorney and robbed her of a huge some of money.

In another case, the victim was contacted by an alleged border guard and told she was a suspect for many crimes in her home country. He was convinced to send skype messages everyday and to pay money to assist them with an international issue.

CIC, the official government website warns you against it. :

A website might be a fake or a scam if:

  • you are asked to pay to access application forms and guides. IRCC only charges fees to process your application.
  • the website offers special, too good to be true immigration deals, or guarantees entry into Canada, high-paying jobs or faster processing of your application.
  • it looks like an official Government of Canada site but it is only in one language and does not have the Canada.ca URL or a URL that ends with “.gc.ca.”
  • you must provide personal information, financial information or make a deposit before you even start the application process.
  • there is no padlock in the browser window or https:// at the beginning of the web address to show it is a secure site. Even if the site appears secure, be cautious.https:// at the beginning of a web addressA padlock in a browser window
  • the website was advertised in an email from a stranger that you did not ask for.
  • you cannot reach anyone listed in the website’s contact information, or the website has no contact information.
  • the company’s or representative’s credentials cannot be found on the site. Paid representatives have to be authorized.
    • This means they are a member in good standing of the designated body for their group.

Job Offer Scams

I was contacted by a recruiter recently who insisted on me sharing the last three digits of my SIN. When I refused to share the detail, his pushy tone warned me that there was something suspicious. I blocked his number immediately.

Scammers are aware that most job seekers are in a vulnerable position. Especially the newcomers and immigrants who land into the country without a job offer. Fake job scams have been on the rise during the pandemic.

A Better Business Bureau (BBB) study reported that fake job scams targeting people who have become unemployed during the pandemic nearly doubled in 2020. According to the study, job scams have been around for years, that in 2019 there were an estimated 14 million victims resulting in $2 billion in direct losses related to job scams and that the problem worsened in 2020.

Tips to avoid job scams in Canada:

  • Never provide personal information such as your full address, birth date or financial information in your resumé or to unverified recruiters and online applications.
  • Never share you Social Insurance Number (SIN) number before you are hired.  
  • Research the job offer by calling or going directly to the actual company’s website for contact information to verify the job posting.
  • If anything seems suspicious, do an internet search with the name of the employer and the word “scam” to see if there are reports involving job scams.
  • Beware of businesses that use a Gmail address or any other suspicious email addresses.
  • Do not pay any amount for the promise of a job; it’s most likely a scam.
  • Be wary of mystery shopping, secret shopper positions or work-from-home jobs that involve receiving and reshipping packages. These are likely scams.
  • Be cautious of jobs that involve receiving and forwarding money.
  • Do not click any links in a text message from a number you do not recognize. 

Fake CRA Calls

My cousin who’s been here for over 5 years now warned us about this one. The fake call from CRA. The person will have an authoritative tone and will as you to transfer them the money, she had warned. It was exactly that.

To be honest, had I not known about it, I might have gotten scared because of the sheer voice tone used. The person tells you that there is an investigation for tax fraud and tax evasion you’ve committed and that you owe the government money. They use an authoritative tone to scare you and get you to either share your financial information or transfer money to them via wire transfer or prepaid credit cards. They may even threaten to send the police to arrest you if you don’t pay up.

A genuine CRA employee will identify themselves when they contact you. The employee will give you their name and a phone number. Make sure the caller is a CRA employee before you give any information over the phone.

Here’s how you can make sure the caller is from the CRA:

  1. Tell the caller you would like to first verify their identity
  2. Ask for, and make a note of their:
    • name
    • phone number
    • office location
  3. Check that the call you received was legitimate by contacting the CRA at the number that you look up yourself on the CRA website before you provide any information to the caller. 
  4. Call the CRA employee back to discuss the reason for the call.

Source: Government website


Rental Scams

A colleague, who had just moved to Canada, was hunting for a place for rent. She found a beautiful apartment on an ad online. She wrote an email to the owner asking for some details. The owner said he was in the US for an extended time period but told her that she could go and take a look at the apartment from outside to get a feel of the locality. If she likes the place, she can send her the initial deposit and take the key from a neighbour. He added that she should make a decision fast since he was getting a lot of queries for the place.

My colleague was eager to move into a new place as she was then staying at a hotel, which was turning out to be very expensive. She seemed to like the place a lot and was thinking of sending the deposit to the owner. She happened to discuss it with another colleague, who immediately told her that it was a scam.

“In a typical rental scam, fraudsters will entice you with a very attractive listing: sought-after area, great amenities and low price. Ads will be posted on popular sites like Kijiji or Facebook. Scammers may use photos from an old listing, from a house that’s up for sale, or from short-term rental sites like Airbnb, to make it look authentic. They pose as the landlord and may claim to be abroad and unable to meet in person to show you inside the place.”

Government of Canada Website

Here is a list of some of the common housing scams:

  • Hijacked Ads: The scammer poses as a landlord and posts an ad for a real place albeit with altered contact information. In one such a shocking scam, the potential tenant was duped of $4300. Luckily, the real owners allowed him to stay for a week to find another place. Do a search on the owner and listing. If you find the same ad listed under a different name, that’s a clue it may be a scam.
  • Phantom Rentals: An ad for a place that does not exist or is not for rent! Scammers aim to get your money before you find out. Always see before you sign!
  • Already Rented: The scammer uses an ad to collect deposits or application fees for a place already rented. Make sure you view the unit, sign the lease and receiving the keys before you deposit any money.

Tips to avoid being rental scams

  1. Always visit the address to make sure the listing is truthful and accurate.
  2. Research the address to ensure it is not a duplicate post. You can also do a reverse image search to see if the photos were used elsewhere.
  3. Schedule a showing and confirm that the landlord will be present.
  4. Request a lease or contract. Review it thoroughly.
  5. Stay away from too-good-to-be-true rent rates.

Moving Scams

Picture this: You’re all set to move. You’ve hired a moving company to help you with it. It all seemed quite expensive at first but then you found a moving company charging a reasonable price to be paid after you’ve moved. They said they’d arrive by 11 am. But there is no sign of them until 1 pm. You lose patience and follow up with them. There was some urgency but now they’re on their way, the guy says. Two guys smelling heavily of weed arrive at 3 pm. You’re already quite late as you have booked a moving time slot for the elevator in your new apartment. Hurriedly, you sign the formality documents and ask the guys to get going. The guys are quick to get all your stuff into the truck. They ask you to follow them in your cab/car. You’re moving when all of a sudden they park the truck at the gas station. They pretend to fill up gas but something seems suspicious. It’s been quite a while. You ask them what’s wrong. One comes forth and says you need to pay triple the amount right away else they won’t move the truck. You panic, shout and scream. They call up their “manager” who says, “well, you signed the contract which says you’ve agreed to pay that amount. The truck is full of all your valuable items. Your family is in the car. The guys know where you live.

You call up the police. But they tell you that you were dumb enough to believe that any moving company would charge only the amount you said they would. You’ve been scammed, they say. And there is nothing that can be done because YOU signed the contract.

A news report says the police have received an increased “number of complaints from across Toronto from people, many of whom were identified as students and newcomers.” 

Reddit is full of stories on how people got scammed.

Tips on how to avoid moving scams

  • Check if the company is a member of Canadian Association of Movers
  • Do a thorough search to make sure you are dealing with an honest mover. 
  • Get an in-person or virtual estimates. Scammers rarely appear in person to give estimates. A low-priced estimate given over the phone can end up costing more than what a legitimate mover charge.
  • Do not pay a large deposit or cash before moving. Honest movers don’t have you pay, in most cases, until just before the shipment unloads at delivery. If the mover demands that you pay when loading, you are dealing with a scammer.

Online Purchases

Nearly 1/3rd of scams reported to Better Business Bureau were about online purchase scams in 2021. With 73.3% of those targeted losing money, online purchase scams ranked as the third riskiest scam in Canada according to the 2021 BBB Risk Report.

The online shopping scams include:

  • Never receiving the products already paid for
  • Getting a bill for unexpected import taxes and other last-minute charges
  • Receiving fake/counterfeit goods for the price of original goods
  • Subscription or free-trial traps

In one reported case, a Canadian consumer said she fell prey to a free trial scam because the advertisement included what was perceived as a Costco logo. She added her personal and credit card information to get the free trial. But then she was charged multiple times afterwards, losing a total of more than $600. She contacted representatives but in vain. She was not offered a solution or a refund. In the end, the consumer requested to speak to a supervisor, but only fake contact information was given to her.


Romance Scams

Netflix has warned us all against Tinder Swindlers like Simon Leviev. But there are plenty of them out there.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has received more than 1,300 reports of romance fraud from victims resulting in more than $43 million in losses this year.

What is romance fraud?

Scammers use dating and social networking sites to contact their victims. They create accounts using stolen photos and backstories. They profess their love to gain victims’ trust and, eventually their money. Note that the fraud can last for years. Romance scammers usually run into trouble and find an excuse to refund their victims.

The Government of Canada website also warns people of the Marriage Scams. The website states: “If you sponsor your spouse, you must give them financial support for 3 years even if the marriage or relationship fails. Sponsorship is a legal contract with the Government of Canada. You must meet its terms.

If your spouse uses social assistance, you’ll have to repay the money. Also, you can’t sponsor anyone else until you repay the debt.

It’s a crime for a foreign national to marry a Canadian citizen or permanent resident only to gain entry to Canada.”

Tips to protect yourself from romance scams

  •  Beware of people who claim to be wealthy, but need to borrow money
  •  It is a warning sign if they keep finding reasons to cancel in-person meetings.
  •  Never send intimate photos or videos of yourself; they could be used to blackmail you
  •  Do not send or accept money or cryptocurrencies to or from unknown individuals.

What to do if you have been scammed in Canada?

If you have been scammed, it is understandable that you may not want to talk about it. But you should report the scam to the right authorities to seek justice and help prevent others from getting scammed.

  • If you have been the victim of any of the above listed frauds, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre toll-free at 1-888-495-8501 or through the Fraud Reporting System. Depending on the type of fraud, or how it occurred, you’ll also want to report it to other organizations.
  1. suspicious border activity
  2. a marriage of convenience
  3. a person who has given false information on any immigration application or
  4. a person wanted on an immigration warrant

Note that the tip line is confidential. You don’t have to provide your name, and calls aren’t recorded.

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Purva is the co-founder of Blue Sky Dreamers. A journalist with 11 years of experience, she also freelances as a content writer & editor.

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