By Walter Beaver and Francis “Franky” Facts | North of Polite Fact Department

Losing money to a scam is bad enough. Imagine then receiving a message from someone claiming to be a government fraud investigator, saying the stolen money has been found and can be returned. There is only a processing fee to pay. For some Canadians, that second message may be another attempt to steal from them.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre warned in July 2026 that it was seeing increased reports of fraudsters impersonating the centre as part of bank-investigator and recovery-fraud schemes. Scammers may use the organization’s name, logo and forged documents to make their messages appear official.

Two versions of the same deception

In the first version, a caller claims to be from a bank, a major credit-card company or a fraud investigation team working with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The person may insist there are suspicious transactions or that the victim’s accounts have been compromised. The proposed solution can be a demand to move funds into a supposedly safe account, provide account credentials or help with a confidential investigation.

Those are danger signs. The Anti-Fraud Centre says it and police will not ask the public to transfer money, disclose passwords or verification codes, or send funds to assist an investigation. A claim that the matter must remain secret is another warning, not evidence of special authority.

In the second version, criminals contact someone who has already lost money. They claim investigators have located the stolen funds but require a tax payment, administrative charge, security deposit or cryptocurrency transfer before the money can be released. These are classic recovery-fraud tactics. The promise of getting your money back can be a powerful lure precisely because the person has already suffered a loss.

Fake authority can look remarkably convincing

A message may include a professional logo, a case number, a letterhead or a name that appears to belong to an investigator. None of those details proves authenticity. Fraudsters can copy visual elements from legitimate organizations, forge correspondence and supply telephone numbers they themselves control.

That means calling back a number from the suspicious letter does not establish that the investigation is real. Independently locate official contact details through the Government of Canada’s website or your financial institution’s own materials. If someone claims to be your bank, call the number on the back of your card.

Protect yourself before sending another dollar

Never send money to a person who unexpectedly claims to recover funds you lost to fraud. Do not share banking passwords, one-time verification codes or remote access to your device. Keep screenshots, emails, account records and phone numbers; they can be useful when reporting what happened.

If you have already transferred money or disclosed information, contact your bank immediately, notify local police and make a report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre through its official website. Reporting is worthwhile even if there is no guarantee the funds can be recovered.

Canada has a national organization dedicated to receiving fraud reports, and criminals are misusing its identity to deceive the very people seeking help. That is the cruel twist of this story: a request that sounds like assistance can instead be another demand for money. Verify the messenger before trusting the message.

Read more Scam Alerts

• Fake CBC interviews are being used to sell bogus AI investments
• Police stopped a $2.9-million fraud attempt after a fake internet service call

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