Trail notes
- Most crypto scams rely on trust and urgency: impersonation, fake support, relationship-based investment schemes and fake platforms.
- Airdrop and “claim” pages often hide drainer approvals that empty your wallet when you sign.
- Check any platform against the CSA’s list of authorized crypto platforms and the Are They Registered search before you send money.
- In Canada, report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, your local police and, for investment platforms, your provincial securities regulator.
- After a loss, expect “recovery” offers. Anyone charging upfront to get your crypto back is almost certainly running a second scam.
How crypto scams usually start
Crypto scams are rarely technical. They work on people, not code. A scammer needs you to trust them, believe an unusual opportunity is real, and act before you have time to check.
Watch for the ingredients that show up again and again:
- Unsolicited contact: a message, call, friend request or comment you did not ask for.
- Borrowed authority: a well-known company, a government agency, a celebrity or a trusted friend’s hacked account.
- Too-good returns: steady, high profits with “no risk”. Crypto assets can be very volatile; the CSA warns you could lose some or all of your funds.
- Urgency and secrecy: act today, tell nobody, do not talk to your bank.
- Unusual payment routes: buying crypto at a bitcoin ATM, sending to a wallet address they give you, or using gift cards.
Common patterns to know
| Scam | How it works | Tell-tale sign |
|---|---|---|
| Impersonation | Someone poses as a bank, platform, government agency or public figure | They contact you, and ask you to move funds or share codes |
| Fake support | Fake help accounts reply when you post a problem online | They ask for your recovery phrase or remote access |
| Relationship investment scam | A new online friend or romantic contact slowly introduces a crypto “opportunity”, sometimes called pig-butchering | Early small withdrawals work, then fees or taxes are demanded to withdraw more |
| Fake platform | A polished trading or yield site shows growing balances that do not exist | Not on the CSA authorized list; withdrawals are blocked |
| Airdrop or drainer phishing | A free token claim asks you to connect and sign | A signature or approval request you did not expect |
| Recovery scam | After a loss, someone offers to recover your funds | Upfront fees, claims of special access or links to authorities |
The relationship-based scam deserves special attention because it can last weeks or months. The scammer builds real-feeling trust first, then shows you a platform where your “investment” grows. Seeing a balance rise on a screen is not proof the money exists. The test is whether you can withdraw your full balance to a wallet you control, without new fees.
Drainer phishing is the DeFi-specific version. The page often looks like a real app. When you sign, you grant an approval or a permit that lets the attacker move your tokens. The wallet approvals guide explains how to read those requests.
How to check a platform is registered
In Canada, crypto trading platforms that serve Canadians, including those based outside Canada, must register with provincial or territorial securities regulators. The CSA says this on its crypto platforms page (last updated 2025-10-22). Platforms still under review can operate only after signing a pre-registration undertaking.
- Look up the exact platform name on the CSA’s list of crypto platforms authorized to do business with Canadians (last updated 2026-09-18 when checked).
- Search the firm or person on the CSA’s Are They Registered tool, which also shows disciplinary history and investor alerts.
- Check the website address matches the one linked from the regulator’s list, not one sent to you.
- If a platform is not listed, or a salesperson cannot be found, treat that as a serious red flag.
Being authorized means a platform has agreed to regulatory terms; it does not mean investments are safe or that you cannot lose money. CDIC does not cover cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins. Decentralized apps themselves are generally not on these lists, so the check a platform guide and platform check tool cover what else to look at.
If it happened to you: the first steps
Feeling embarrassed is normal, and scammers count on it. Acting quickly matters more.
- Stop sending money or crypto, and stop communicating with the scammer.
- If a wallet is compromised, move any remaining funds to a new wallet with a fresh recovery phrase on a clean device, and revoke token approvals.
- Contact your bank or card issuer if you paid with fiat money, and the platform if you sent funds from an account there.
- Save evidence: wallet addresses, transaction IDs, screenshots, website addresses, usernames, messages and dates.
- Report the fraud (see below), and warn anyone else who may be targeted.
The scam response checklist turns these steps into a printable list.
Reporting crypto fraud in Canada
Reporting helps investigators connect cases and warn others, even when funds cannot be recovered.
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC): the national centre that collects reports of fraud and cybercrime. Use its report fraud and cybercrime page.
- Your local police: file a report and keep the file number. Some banks and platforms ask for it.
- Your provincial or territorial securities regulator: if the scam involved an investment, trading platform or someone offering investment advice. The CSA website links to each regulator.
- The platform involved: if a registered platform was used to send funds, tell it promptly.
The report fraud page collects these steps in one place.
Beware the recovery-scam follow-up
People who have lost money are often targeted again. Messages arrive offering to trace and recover your crypto, sometimes claiming to work with police, regulators, lawyers or “blockchain forensic” firms. They ask for an upfront fee, your recovery phrase or remote access to your computer.
Government agencies and police do not charge you to recover stolen crypto. Anyone who contacts you first and asks for a fee, a recovery phrase or remote access is almost certainly running another scam.
Before engaging with any offer, run it past the scam red flags tool and talk it over with someone you trust.
Your checklist
Questions people ask
How do I report a crypto scam in Canada?
Report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and your local police, and keep the police file number. If an investment or trading platform was involved, also contact your provincial or territorial securities regulator.
How can I check if a crypto platform is legitimate in Canada?
Look up the platform on the Canadian Securities Administrators’ list of crypto platforms authorized to do business with Canadians, and search the firm on the Are They Registered tool. A platform that is not listed is a serious red flag.
What is a pig-butchering scam?
It is a relationship-based investment scam where someone builds trust over weeks, often romantically, then steers you to a fake crypto platform. Balances appear to grow, but withdrawals are blocked or require ever-rising fees.
Can someone recover my stolen crypto for a fee?
Be extremely cautious. Recovery offers that ask for upfront fees, your recovery phrase or remote access are a common follow-up scam. Report the original fraud to the CAFC and police instead.
Sources and dates
- Report fraud and cybercrime — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centrereference
No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-31. How Canadians report fraud and cybercrime, including crypto scams. - Investment scams — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centrereference
No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-31. Warning signs of investment and crypto investment scams. - Crypto platforms authorized to do business with Canadians — Canadian Securities Administratorsreference
Page date 2026-09-18 · checked 2026-10-30. The official list of authorized platforms, with links to each decision. - Are they registered? (National Registration Search) — Canadian Securities Administratorsreference
Page date 2026-01-13 · checked 2026-10-30. Check registration, disciplinary history and investor alerts. - Crypto platforms: regulation and enforcement actions — Canadian Securities Administratorsin force
Page date 2025-10-22 · checked 2026-10-30. Platforms serving Canadians, including foreign ones, must register; operating platforms sign a pre-registration undertaking while under review. - Crypto undertakings (pre-registration undertakings) — Canadian Securities Administratorsreference
Page date 2026-07-17 · checked 2026-10-30. Platforms operating under a pre-registration undertaking. - Investor tools — crypto assets — Canadian Securities Administratorsreference
Page date 2025-10-22 · checked 2026-10-30. Crypto assets can be very volatile and risky; you could lose some or all of your funds. - What's covered — Canada Deposit Insurance Corporationin force
No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-30. Up to $100,000 per category per member institution; cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, are not covered. - How are crypto assets regulated? (learning path) — Ontario Securities Commission — GetSmarterAboutMoneyreference
No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-31. Plain-language investor education on crypto regulation in Canada. - Ethereum security and scam prevention — ethereum.orgreference
No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-31. Wallet security habits and common scams.
Education only. Nothing on this page is financial, investment, tax or legal advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell, stake, lend or borrow any crypto-asset. Crypto-assets can lose some or all of their value and are not covered by CDIC. Canadian rules change: check the dated sources above and talk to a qualified professional about your situation. Full disclaimer.