How to Report Fraud or Cybercrime to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre

Where should you report fraud or cybercrime in Canada?

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre collects reports of fraud, identity theft and cybercrime affecting people and businesses in Canada. Victims and witnesses can report through the federal Report Cybercrime and Fraud website, and CAFC also accepts reports by telephone at 1-888-495-8501.

CAFC says you should still report an incident even if no money was lost. Reports help identify emerging fraud methods, support prevention and disruption efforts, inform public warnings and provide intelligence that can assist law enforcement.

If you are the victim of a crime, reporting to CAFC does not replace contacting your local police. Federal cyber-security guidance recommends reporting cybercrime to the police service responsible for your area and keeping the police report or file number.

What should you do before submitting the report?

Preserve as much information as you can. CAFC specifically tells victims to gather documents, receipts and copies of emails or text messages connected with the fraud.

Do not delete suspicious messages, transaction records or other evidence simply because you have recognized the scam. Details about the contact method, payment, website, sender and sequence of events can help explain what happened.

If money was transferred, contact your financial institution immediately

CAFC instructs victims to report the incident to the financial institution that transferred the money. Acting quickly is important because fraudulent payments can be moved rapidly, and recovery may become difficult or impossible once funds have been transferred onward.

Do not send additional money to someone claiming that another payment, tax, deposit or administrative fee is required to recover your original loss. CAFC warns that previous fraud victims are frequently targeted again through recovery scams.

How do you report fraud online?

Use the Government of Canada's Report Cybercrime and Fraud service. CAFC confirms that both victims and witnesses can submit an online report and that anonymous reporting is available if you prefer not to identify yourself.

The online reporting route can be used for fraud and cybercrime. There is no requirement that money must already have been lost: attempted or suspicious fraud can still be useful to report.

Can you report fraud by phone instead?

Yes. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's toll-free fraud reporting number is 1-888-495-8501. CAFC states that calls are answered Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time, and the line is closed on holidays.

If there is an immediate danger to life or safety, do not wait for the CAFC reporting line. Call 911. For other criminal incidents or safety concerns, contact your local police.

Do you also need to contact local police?

Yes if you are a victim of fraud or cybercrime. CAFC instructs victims to report the incident to their local police and obtain a file number for future reference. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security similarly advises victims to report cybercrime to local law enforcement.

A CAFC report is not a substitute for a local criminal report. The CAFC is a national service that gathers fraud intelligence and assists police with prevention and enforcement efforts, while the police service with jurisdiction handles local law-enforcement reporting.

What if the fraud involved identity theft?

If your personal information was stolen or fraudulently used, take steps beyond the CAFC report. CAFC advises identity-fraud victims to place alerts or flags on affected accounts, change passwords and report the fraud to Equifax and TransUnion.

Check bank, credit-card and credit-report activity for transactions or accounts you do not recognize. If you discover additional suspicious activity after filing a police report, CAFC advises updating your police file.

Report compromised government identification to the issuing authority

If a passport, Social Insurance Number, immigration document, driver's licence, health card, birth certificate or other government-issued document has been lost, stolen or misused, contact the government authority responsible for that document. CAFC provides separate instructions for federal and provincial or territorial identification depending on the document involved.

Should you report an online scam to the website too?

Yes where applicable. If the fraud occurred through a website, CAFC recommends reporting the incident directly to the site's administrators. Many sites provide functions such as Report Abuse or Report an Ad.

This does not replace reporting the fraud to CAFC or police when appropriate. Each report serves a different purpose: platforms can act on accounts or content under their control, while CAFC and police collect information relevant to fraud prevention and law enforcement.

Is the Cyber Centre reporting portal the same as the CAFC?

No. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security has a separate cyber-incident reporting service, particularly relevant to cyber-security incidents affecting organizations and systems. Its portal states that reporting to the Cyber Centre does not launch an immediate law-enforcement response.

For cybercrime of a criminal nature, federal guidance encourages victims to contact police and report fraud or cybercrime to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. If an incident threatens life or safety, contact emergency services.

What happens after a CAFC report is submitted?

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre gathers fraud information nationally and uses reports to build intelligence, identify trends, support prevention and disruption, inform public warnings and assist law-enforcement partners. A CAFC report does not mean that your individual case will automatically be investigated or that lost money will be recovered.

Keep your evidence, transaction records and police file number. CAFC advises victims to share relevant updates with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, financial institutions and police.

Common mistakes after fraud or cybercrime

• Waiting to contact your bank after discovering an unauthorized or fraudulent transfer.
• Reporting only to CAFC when the incident should also be reported to local police.
• Deleting messages, receipts or other evidence before preserving copies.
• Assuming an attempted scam is not worth reporting because no money was lost.
• Paying a person who promises to recover stolen money for an upfront fee.
• Trusting an unsolicited caller who claims to work for CAFC, police or your bank without independently verifying the contact.
• Giving passwords, verification codes, banking information or remote device access to someone claiming to be investigating the fraud.

Be careful of fraudsters pretending to be the CAFC

CAFC warned again in 2026 that criminals are impersonating its representatives in fraud-investigator and recovery scams. The CAFC and police will not ask you to transfer money, make a payment, provide passwords or verification codes, or give someone remote access to your device as part of an investigation.

If someone unexpectedly claims to be from the CAFC or your financial institution, end the communication and independently contact the organization using official contact information you find yourself.