Cybercrime is on the rise according to stats from the OPP.
Ontario Provincial Police have crunched the numbers when it comes to online scams and it seems like cryptocurrency is the latest and greatest for scammers.
In the North West region, provincial police note that there has been a 36 per cent increase to cybercrimes or cyber enabled crimes from 2020-2021.
Cybercrimes/cyber enabled crimes are defined as all online frauds and crimes against persons/businesses, cyberbullying/harassment, identity theft and data breaches.
In 2020, there were 95 reported instances of criminal activity. This increased to 129 occurrences in 2021.
So far in 2022, there have been 55 reports to police surrounding cybercrime plus any ongoing investigations from individuals how’ve lost over $50,000.
Cryptocurrency scams are tempting as there is usually a promise of high rates of return. OPP is reminding members of the public that there is an inherent risk in any investment especially for cryptocurrencies, which are not monitored and protected in the way that some other investments from major banks and reputable financial institutions may be.
This offers no protection for individuals who invest their money in cryptocurrencies.
If it sounds too good to be true, than it probably is.
