Ontario Police Issue Urgent Warning: Crypto & Cash Impersonation Scams Targeting Residents
Another day, another scam—only this one's dressed in a uniform.
Law enforcement in Ontario is sounding the alarm over a sophisticated impersonation scheme. Fraudsters are posing as police officers to swindle residents out of both cryptocurrency and traditional cash. It's a grim reminder that while digital assets promise financial sovereignty, the old-school con artist is alive, well, and surprisingly adaptable.
The Bait-and-Switch in a Badge
The playbook is chillingly simple. Targets receive unsolicited contact from someone claiming to be a law enforcement official. The fake cop spins a tale of urgent legal trouble—an arrest warrant, a frozen account, a family member in jeopardy. The solution? Make an immediate payment to "resolve" the issue. The preferred payment methods? A direct wire transfer or, increasingly, an irreversible crypto transaction to a specified wallet address.
It preys on fear, urgency, and a fundamental trust in authority. Once the funds are sent, especially in crypto, they're gone for good—no bank manager to call, no chargeback to file. Poof.
Why Crypto is a Con Artist's New Best Friend
Scammers have a long and storied love affair with cash. It's untraceable, portable, and final. Cryptocurrency, in the wrong hands, offers the same perks with a digital veneer. A wallet address provides a layer of anonymity that a physical drop-off can't match. The transaction is global, near-instant, and once confirmed on-chain, it's monumentally difficult to reverse.
For the fraudster, it's a perfect storm: the psychological pressure of a police impersonation combined with the transactional finality of blockchain. A match made in hell, or perhaps just a cynical hedge against the volatility of their other, more traditional grifts.
How to Spot the Wolf in Police Clothing
Genuine law enforcement will never call out of the blue to demand money, especially not in cryptocurrency or gift cards. They won't threaten immediate arrest over the phone to secure payment. Any request for payment to "avoid jail" or "unfreeze assets" is a massive red flag.
The advice from real officers is straightforward: Hang up. Do not engage. Do not share personal information or seed phrases. Contact your local police station directly through verified channels to report the attempt. Your keys, your crypto—and in this case, your common sense—are your last line of defense.
As the financial landscape digitizes, so do its predators. This Ontario warning is less about the dangers of crypto and more about the timeless art of the scam, now upgraded for a digital age. It seems some things never change—the desire for a quick, dishonest buck just gets a new wallet address.
Canada crypto scams on the rise
The OPP also warned against crypto job fraud. According to the agency, the criminals are using the names of real companies in Canada. Fraudsters offer freelance job opportunities to “boost” products, apps, or videos using downloaded software.
The #LanarkOPP is seeing an increase in crypto job frauds. Using the names of real companies in Canada, fraudsters offer freelance job opportunities to "boost" products, apps or videos using downloaded software.
After the victim installs the software and creates an account,… pic.twitter.com/Reju5dY0h0
— OPP East Region (@OPP_ER) February 6, 2026
“After the victim installs the software and creates an account, they receive ‘orders’ or ‘tasks’ to complete. Victims might receive a small payment or commission in order to convince them that the job is legitimate,” OPP wrote.
This report follows an Estevan Police Service report on bitcoin scams. They received a call from a victim who was contacted by someone who sounded like their employer. The scammer directed the victim to deposit funds into a Bitcoin machine.
Fraud in Canada has grown over the years. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, as of September 30, 2025, 33,854 fraud reports had been processed, involving 23,113 victims. Losses totalled $544 million. Most people paid with crypto, which cost $23,815 CAD per transaction.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) issued a statement, publicly announcing the release of its Digital Asset Custody Framework. It outlines how dealer members operating crypto asset trading platforms (CTPs) should ensure robust protection of digital assets.
As reported by Cryptopolitan, additional requirements include firm governance policies that structure governance, ensuring compliance with key management operations, cybersecurity, incident response, and third-party risks. Also, mandatory insurance, independent audits, security compliance reports, and regular penetration testing are considered essential.
To underscore the importance of transparency, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) imposed an approximately $12 million penalty on local crypto exchange Cryptomus last October for failing to report over 1,000 suspicious transactions linked to darknet markets and wallets.
These transactions were reportedly linked to fraud, ransomware payments, and sanctions evasion. It also fined offshore exchanges KuCoin and Binance earlier in the year for similar reasons.
Old people lose $700 million to an impersonation scam
According to Chainalysis, at least $14 billion in crypto was winding its way to criminals last year, versus $13 billion in 2024. However, it expects the figure for 2025 to increase to $17 billion once it identifies more illicit wallets in the coming months. This is already a record high, with the value of individual scam payments also surging by 253% year-on-year in 2025.
A big driver of these figures is the use of impersonation tactics, which grew 1,400% in volume YoY while related payments increased over 600%.
Americans aged 60 and older reported losing $700 million to impersonation fraud last year, up from $122 million in 2020. Most of the increase was driven by high-dollar theft. Reports of scams involving more than $100,000 increased eight times over the last four years, while losses of less than $10,000 merely doubled.
Although anyone can be a victim of an impersonation scam, the Federal Trade Commission says the elderly have been disproportionately harmed. Many scams rely on crypto transfers, which offer the advantage of being irreversible and decentralized.
One-third of older adults who reported losing $10,000 or more said they used crypto as a payment method. Most of those victims specifically mentioned Bitcoin ATMs—physical kiosks that allow customers to transfer money from credit or debit cards directly into crypto.
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