Fraud experts are warning of an “unprecedented surge” of online scams costing Canadians and Albertans millions every year.
Social Catfish, an online consumer protection and people-search company, just released a new study that looked at the growing numbers, and provinces victimized the most.
Alberta ranked second on that list — only behind Ontario.
The study analyzed five years of data from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and found a record $380 million was stolen in 2021, up more than double from $165 million in 2020.
Alberta victims lost an average of $2,970 over the last five years.
David McClellan, president of Social Catfish, told Global News the rankings take into account population and age demographics.
“In this study, we saw that people 45 and up were the people that lost the most amount of money,” McClellan said. “That was scammed the most.”
He added the trend is a byproduct of many things; the pandemic, the loneliness it created and the need for connection — even with a stranger.
“When we talk about these scams a lot of people are like: ‘Oh how stupid are these people? How could they fall for this?’” McClellan said. “These people are literally groomed over a period of time.
“The majority of people that are scammed, it’s not because they’re dumb. The number…
