Bad Samaritans: when scammers offer you help

In 2021, Isabelle Gagnon is in shock. She just lost more than $60,000 in a cryptocurrency fraud that spanned several weeks and began with a misleading Facebook ad.

Shortly after, she receives a call: the person on the other end of the line is aware of the fraud of which she has been a victim.

It’s someone [qui parle] in English. He just tells me: you have been defrauded, we will help you find your money. And there, he talks a lot. He wants to rush me, without explaining anything to meshe says.

She then receives several emails from a company supposedly designated by the European Union and which also wants to help her. The sender specifies that he must close the accounts and reimburse customers, like her.

However, she must respond quickly if she wants to get her money back.

In fact, Isabelle Gagnon is in the crosshairs of criminals who engage in money recovery fraud. The ploy: letting victims of fraud believe that it is possible to recover their money for certain fees.

The co-founder of the cybercriminology clinic, Fiscyillia Ream, knows this scam well. Under the guise of being a company which aims to recover funds lost following an investment, they will contact the victim, in fact offering to pay […] to be able to recover the funds she would have lost in the previous scheme.

In his opinion, everything indicates that it is the same fraudsters who are applying since they already have the victim’s contact details. Isabelle Gagnon is convinced of this since she has never asked for help from anyone, except the police. How then would they have known what happened to him?

Well, I really think it’s the same group, actually. This person, we managed to defraud him once, he may be weak and may be vulnerable. We will continue, we will try again by other meanssupports the thirty-year-old.

A growing ploy

Just like other types of fraud, recovery fraud has seen a sharp increase in the country over the past four years, going from $900,000 lost in 2020 to more than seven million in 2023, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg, since only 5% to 10% of victims file a complaint.

Based on the amount lost reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center in 2023, money recovery frauds were in our top tenunderlines the spokesperson for the organization Jeff Horncastle.

According to the organization, people who reported recovery fraud lost an average of $30,000, which they gave to their bad Samaritans.

Companies also appear on the Internet

It also happens that victims of fraud seek solutions on the Internet themselves without even having been approached by bad Samaritans.

A quick scan allows us to find around ten companies and law offices that cater to victims of cryptocurrency fraud.

The problem: the majority suggests that it is possible to recover lost sums when it is far from simple.

When we talk about networks that are organized, there will be a complexity of investigation, a mode of operation which means that the chances of recovering the sums are very, very low.indicates Michaël Gillet, director of investigations and intelligence at Commissionaires du Québec, an organization specializing in particular in cybersecurity.

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The Canadian Anti-Fraud Center also invites the public to be wary of companies that promise the possibility of recovering their money.

Unfortunately, most companies that make promises are fraudulent. It’s very common for scammers to ensure that they are in the first results of an Internet search.adds the organization’s spokesperson Jeff Horncastle.

Psychological consequences

Recovery fraud is like a second blow which amplifies the distress of the victims.

We are already ashamed the first time, but to fall into a second fraud scheme, the feeling of shame is sure to be increased tenfold.explains the co-founder of the cybercriminology clinic, Fiscyillia Ream.

Fortunately, Isabelle Gagnon had the right reflexes. She was immediately suspicious of this help, which she had not requested to recover the approximately $60,000 she had lost.

Morally, it’s really terrible because in fact we have already lost. We risk losing again. It’s boring to say, but you know, I felt very stupid for having suffered this fraud. I can’t imagine the feeling of being defrauded a second time on top of that.she explains.