- The CAFC says: if you have been a victim of fraud or cybercrime, contact your local police as soon as possible.
- CAFC phone 1-888-495-8501, Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4:45 pm Eastern (closed holidays); online reporting is at reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca and anonymous reports are possible.
- Quinte West OPP said financial institutions often will not reimburse payments made after a phishing text, which is why the bank call comes first.
- IRCC says its goal is to find and stop the people committing fraud, not to punish the people who were misled.
The first hour
- Stop paying. A second fee “to release” the document or the refund is a standard next step. Do not send it, and do not send a copy of any more ID.
- Call your bank or card issuer on the number printed on the card. Say that you paid a fraud, give the amount, date and method, and ask them to block the card or account and review the transaction. Ask what dispute options exist for that payment method. We cannot promise a refund; the OPP said institutions often decline to reimburse after a phishing text, so speed and detail matter.
- Change passwords for email, banking and any account whose details you typed into a link.
- Save evidence. Screenshots of the advert, chat and payment confirmations, the web address (take a photo of the address bar), phone numbers and names used. Do not delete the chat.
- Report to local police. The CAFC says to do this as soon as possible; ICBC also encourages customers affected by its text scam to contact police.
- Report to the CAFC online or by phone. The CAFC keeps a central repository that can link crimes together in Canada and abroad.
If you sent identity documents
- Tell your bank and every card issuer, and ask for fraud alerts on your accounts.
- Watch your credit file for accounts you did not open.
- If you sent a Social Insurance Number or a copy of the card, read SIN scams: ESDC will issue a new SIN only with clear evidence of fraudulent use, and it points to its SIN fraud page and the Privacy Commissioner for complaints.
- If you sent a passport copy, tell the passport and immigration authorities only through official pages; do not answer any “passport office” who contacts you.
- Under section 402.2 of the Criminal Code, trafficking in identity information is itself an offence, so a seller who kept your documents is exposed to more than fraud.
Which scam, which extra step
| If it was | Add this |
|---|---|
| A text about an unpaid ticket | Call the card issuer, change passwords, report to police and CAFC. Details: text scams. |
| A passport look-alike site | Also use the Competition Bureau's online complaint form and the Report Cybercrime and Fraud site, as its July 2026 release advises. Details: passport scam sites. |
| An immigration call, job offer or consultant | Also report to the Border Watch Line for fraud in Canada, use IRCC's online form for representative misconduct and tell the licensing body. Details: immigration fraud. |
| A language certificate you bought | Do not submit it. Report the seller to the test provider. Speak to a licensed representative if you already did. Details: fake certificates. |
| A nursing credential or licence for sale | Report to the college and the CAFC. Details: fake nurses. |
If you already used the document
This is the hard case. If you gave a forged document to an employer, a school, a regulator or IRCC, the exposure runs beyond the seller. Section 368 of the Criminal Code applies to using a forged document as genuine, and section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act can bar entry for five years for misrepresentation. We cannot tell you what will happen. Speak to a lawyer, a legal aid clinic or, for immigration matters, a licensed representative before you contact the organization, and read the Criminal Code and fake documents.
What not to do
- Do not pay a “recovery” service that contacts you offering to get your money back; that is a second scam pattern, and we found no official source that endorses one.
- Do not call numbers from the scam message.
- Do not feel that reporting makes things worse. The CAFC says you can report even if you did not fall victim.
Frequently asked questions
Who do I call first if I paid a scammer in Canada?
Your bank or card issuer, on the number printed on the card, so they can block the account and review the payment. Then report to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
What is the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's phone number?
1-888-495-8501, Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4:45 pm Eastern, closed holidays, according to the CAFC page we opened on 5 October 2026. You can also report online.
Can I get my money back?
Sometimes, depending on the payment method and how fast you act, but we cannot promise it. The OPP said financial institutions often will not reimburse after a phishing text payment.
Should I report even if I did not lose money?
Yes. The CAFC says you can report scams even if you did not fall victim, and the information helps link crimes in Canada and abroad.
What if I sent copies of my ID to the scammer?
Tell your banks, ask for fraud alerts and watch your credit file. For a Social Insurance Number, use ESDC's SIN fraud page and Service Canada's SIN program.
Sources and official links
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: how to report fraud
- ICBC: warning customers about text message scam (3 September 2025)
- Kawartha 411: OPP warning about scam outstanding driving-related charges text messages (10 October 2025)
- Competition Bureau: multiple charges laid in deceptive online passport service scam (28 July 2026)
- IRCC: report immigration fraud
- Employment and Social Development Canada: protecting your Social Insurance Number
- Criminal Code, section 402.2 (identity theft and trafficking in identity information)