Canadian police are issuing a stern warning about fraudsters targeting cryptocurrency scam victims with fake recovery schemes. These criminals are increasingly using official-looking branding, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) logo, to lure individuals who have already lost funds.
A recent case in Nanaimo, British Columbia, highlights this predatory tactic. A resident, who had previously lost C$5,000 in a crypto job scam, was later contacted by individuals claiming they could recover the lost money. These fraudsters posed as lawyers, falsely stating they had located significant crypto "profits" for the victim.
Authorities emphasize that law enforcement agencies do not solicit payment for fraud investigations or offer cryptocurrency recovery services. Such communications are fraudulent and designed to exploit victims' vulnerability and desire to reclaim lost assets. Experts note that these scams are becoming more systematic, with fraudsters reusing victim data from previous schemes to increase their credibility and exploit psychological biases, like authority bias, by impersonating trusted institutions.