Canada: Reporting to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
TL;DR: Report any scam in Canada to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) — 1-888-495-8501 or online at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca — alongside contacting your bank and, if money was lost, your local police. Individual CAFC reports rarely trigger a standalone investigation, but they feed a national database used to identify and dismantle larger fraud operations.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), based in North Bay, Ontario, is the national hub for fraud reporting in Canada — and understanding what it actually does helps set the right expectations for what happens after you report.
How to report
- Online: antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca
- Phone: 1-888-495-8501 (Monday–Friday, 10 AM–4:45 PM ET)
Have ready: the phone number, email, or website involved; screenshots of messages; dates, times, and amounts if money was lost; and any names or usernames the scammer used.
What the report actually does
It's worth being direct about this: an individual CAFC report rarely triggers its own dedicated investigation. What it does do is feed into a national database that investigators use to identify patterns, track active fraud operations, and build cases — the CAFC has been part of shutting down large call-centre fraud rings, romance scam networks, and impersonation schemes because enough individual reports built a large enough picture. Canadians lost over $638 million to fraud in 2024 according to CAFC data, and the agency has stated that only a small fraction of incidents are ever reported — so every report genuinely adds to that picture.
Alongside the CAFC report
- Contact your bank immediately if money was transferred, and ask about recall options for the specific payment method used.
- Report to local police if you suffered a financial loss — most Canadian police services accept online fraud reports directly, separate from the CAFC.
- Report identity theft to credit bureaus — Equifax and TransUnion both let you place a fraud alert or credit freeze on your file if personal information was compromised.
Watch for CAFC impersonation
Because the CAFC is well known, scammers sometimes impersonate the agency itself — contacting previous scam victims and claiming to be helping "recover" lost funds, using fake CAFC letterhead and logos. The CAFC has explicitly warned that it will never ask victims to transfer funds or make any payment. Recovery-pitch and investigator-impersonation scams cost Canadians tens of millions of dollars a year, specifically targeting people who've already been scammed once.
What to do next
If personal information beyond the fraud itself was compromised, Canada's privacy law also gives you specific rights — see Canada's PIPEDA Explained. Once you've reported, follow the payment-method-specific recovery steps in the complete international recovery guide, and consider what personal information may already be exposed and used to target you — a Scan My Shadow report checks your phone number and email against 1,500+ sources.
Once the immediate danger has passed, see how much of your information is already public: See what's visible about you.
Sources
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: Report fraud and cybercrime
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: Fraud Prevention Month 2025
Related Reading
- Peel Police: “Oil Rig” Romance Scam Allegedly Took $610,382
- Project Mismatch: Toronto Police Charge Two in $250K Dating App Scam
- Facebook Romance Scam: Middle Sackville Victim Loses About $300,000
- B.C. Woman Jailed in South Korea Says a Romance Scam Made Her a Drug Mule
- Calgary Woman, 75, Loses $800,000 to a Romance Scam: “I Have Nothing Left”
- Australia: Scamwatch and IDCARE — The Recovery Process Explained
- Fraudsters Impersonating Action Fraud in the UK
- UK Action Fraud Reporting and APP Reimbursement Rules
- How Canadian Police Recovered Scam Money: Cases From 2019 to 2025
- Canada Scam News: October 2026 Roundup and Warnings
- Canada Fraud 2025: C$704M Reported Lost to Scams
- "Vancouver Sheriff's Office" Scam Calls: You Didn't Miss Court
- Fake RCMP Email Says You're Under Cybercrime Investigation
- Report Spam Texts in Canada: 7726 and the Spam Centre
- Fake Anti-Fraud Centre Callers Target Victims: $54M Lost
Frequently Asked Questions
Will reporting to the CAFC get my money back?
Not directly for most individual cases — the CAFC's role is primarily collecting data that feeds larger investigations rather than acting on single reports. For fund recovery, your bank and local police are the more direct contacts.
Do I need to report to both the CAFC and my local police?
Yes, if you suffered a financial loss — report to your local police service for the investigation and to the CAFC to contribute to the national fraud database.
What information should I have ready when reporting to the CAFC?
The scammer's phone number, email, or website; screenshots of communications; transaction dates, times, and amounts; and any names or usernames used.
Is it true the CAFC itself gets impersonated by scammers?
Yes — this is a documented and growing scam specifically targeting people who've already lost money, using fake CAFC branding to offer 'fund recovery' in exchange for an upfront fee. The real CAFC never asks for payment.
How do I contact the CAFC?
By phone at 1-888-495-8501 (Monday–Friday, 10 AM–4:45 PM ET) or online at antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
Curious what's already out there about you? Scan My Shadow checks your phone number and email across 1,500+ sources and sends you a clear report — no guesswork, just facts. Start your scan.
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