Vancouver – Vancouver Police are warning the public about cryptocurrency scams, which resulted in $1.3 million dollars in losses to two victims in January.

On December 24, a 55-year-old woman reported to police that she had been a victim of a cryptocurrency scam. She met someone she believed was an investor who promised high returns if she contributed money to an investment pool.

Over several months, the victim and suspect primarily communicated through Whatsapp and WeChat. The victim trusted the suspect and believed she was contributing money to a legitimate investment. However, after contributing $565,000 dollars through several fake investments that occurred overall several months, the suspect stopped all communication and disappeared.

On January 10, an 82-year-old man reported to police that he responded to an online advertisement showing a picture of Prime Minister Mark Carney, encouraging him to invest in cryptocurrency. The victim believed the advertisement was real and began communicating through the encrypted app Telegram. He invested $800,000 dollars over six months through wire transfer to a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange before realizing he’d been defrauded.

“Cryptocurrency crimes are challenging to solve, because scammers often prey on peoples’ trust and vulnerability, with promises of high investment returns,” says Constable Megan Lui. “The likelihood of recovering someone’s money after they’ve been scammed this way is very low.”

In 2025, the Vancouver Police Department had $27 million dollars reported in frauds.

“We want victims to come forward and report these incidents to police right away, so we can conduct timely investigations,” adds Constable Lui. “We also want people to know that cryptocurrency scams have been increasing, so they have steps to prevent themselves and their loved ones from being victimized.”

Here are some tips to help prevent getting scammed:

  • Always double check with a trusted source like an immediate family member or good friend before sending money to someone you don’t know
  • Do research prior to deciding to invest any amount of funds – there are online articles warnings about these specific scams
  • Always be cautious if something is promising very high returns with very little effort – if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is

Victims who have not yet come forward can call the VPD non-emergency line at 604-717-3321 to make a report. Crimes in progress should be reported to 9-1-1.