Global Scam Watch, Toronto, ON (2026)

09/22/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗺 𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱

Back in the day it was speakers. A van would pull up, two men would jump out, and claim they had brand name speakers left over from a large installation job and needed to unload them fast, cash only, gone before anyone could think twice. The boxes looked right. The speakers inside were junk.

Waterloo Regional Police recently put out a warning covering the same con with a new prop: projectors. Between August 26 and September 18, 2026, police received five reports of individuals selling projectors at steep discounts near post-secondary campuses in the region, with low-cost units rebranded and marketed as high-end models to fool buyers into believing they were getting a deal on premium equipment.

One case reported September 14 shows how far the pitch has evolved. A victim walking on the University of Waterloo campus was approached by occupants of a dark-colored SUV, who claimed they were transporting projectors for an installation job and needed someone to temporarily store a spare unit before selling it. The suspects told the victim he or she would be compensated for storing the projector, but said a deposit was required while the equipment remained in the victim's care. They then drove the victim to a bank, where the victim withdrew $5,000 in cash and handed it over as the deposit. The suspects left with the money, and the victim was left holding a cheap projector dressed up as a high-end model.

This case made headlines out of Ontario, but the con is not tied to any single city or region. Variations of this pitch, involving discounted electronics and a cash deposit demand, are turning up in communities across the country and beyond.

The packaging changes from year to year. Speakers, projectors, whatever moves this month. The playbook remains identical: urgency, a too-good deal, a story built to get victims moving before they stop and think, and a push toward cash in hand. If someone offers to sell discounted electronics on the street or asks you to hold merchandise for a fee, walk away. Legitimate business does not operate out of an SUV in a parking lot.

09/21/2026

Help raise Heinz Kreutz's "Bail" (this is me)

This is typically not something I would post but since it is a fundraiser and all my "Bail" money goes towards crime stoppers :)

hopefully I do not have to spend too long behind bars. Although if you can bring some black forest cake with a file cleverly hidden in it, I would be grateful :)

All bail money raised goes towards crime prevention initiatives

Heinz

09/14/2026

The 2026 Delta Community Safety Forum is less than a week away and that will be it for the series. Those who attended the South Surrey White Rock and Port Moody events seemed to enjoy the presentation.

Several upgrades were made since South Surrey in May 2026, particularly the Frauds & Scams Awareness Presentation; the slide show was completely gutted and rebuilt from scratch, with a focus on a friendly non fear based approach. Instead of listing hundreds of scams, attendee feedback combined with the ever evolving scam landscape resulted in a fun little presentation which addresses several topics

- What are scammers after - Money is not the first target
- What are the Scam Entry Points
- What is in the Scammers Toolbox
- How to spot the signs of a Scam
- Building a Personal Scam Firewall

The presentation is designed to be educational non fear based.

Based on the initial feedback from the Port Moody, it was well received.

I hope to see you there.

09/09/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗔 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗺 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹

I received this email this morning, and it is a good example of how scammers are finding new ways to make phishing messages look legitimate.

The email appears to be a calendar invitation. It came from an email address I have never interacted with and contains an event titled “(4) New Audio message waiting...” The supposed event was scheduled for 9:30 AM, but the email arrived at 9:42 AM, meaning the "event" had already started when I received the invitation. This is purposly done to trigger the feel of FOMO.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗺?

The calendar invitation is simply the bait.

The goal is to make me curious enough to interact with the invitation and potentially click a link or follow instructions contained within it.

The invitation also tells me I can add it to my calendar and automatically receive future invitations from the sender. This is another red flag. It is attempting to establish an ongoing connection with an unknown sender rather than simply delivering one message.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀?

There are several red flags in this email.

• I have never interacted with the sender.

• I was not expecting a calendar invitation.

• The title is designed to create curiosity by suggesting I have four new audio messages. (Potential malware)

• The event was scheduled for 9:30 AM, but the invitation did not arrive until 9:42 AM.

• The timing creates a sense of urgency and fear of missing out. The supposed event is already happening, encouraging me to act quickly.

• The invitation offers to automatically add future invitations from the sender to my calendar, potentially giving future scam messages another route to reach me.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗧𝗼

Scammers do not necessarily need a new scam. They just need another way to deliver the bait.

Email is still the delivery mechanism here, but instead of simply putting a suspicious link in the body of an email, the scammer is using a calendar invitation to make the message look more legitimate.

The goal is still the same: get you curious, create urgency, get you to interact and ultimately get you to click.

If you were not expecting the invitation, there is no reason to investigate it. Do not add it to your calendar, do not accept future invitations from the sender and do not click links or follow instructions contained within it.

Sometimes the biggest red flag is simply being asked to act on something you never asked for in the first place.

09/06/2026

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀

People often ask why I do what I do. This is why. It is a passion project. While I have never fallen for these scams, I did get close to buying some speakers in a parking lot when I was in my early 20's ;p Anyone can find themselves targeted by persuasive deception, but recovery scammers represent an exceptionally predatory threat. These operators actively seek out individuals reeling from previous financial fraud, offering false promises of retrieving lost funds or cryptocurrency.

The attached image displays the reality of the situation: after reporting an outright fraudulent asset recovery advertisement, Meta responded stating the post does not violate their standards. Because large platforms consistently fail to police this content effectively, our community must step forward to spread accurate information and protect our neighbours. This is why I am organizing a series of community safety forums across Metro Vancouver, British Columbia.

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗢𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱

• Claiming specialized technical ability to reverse blockchain transactions or retrieve funds sent to fraudulent offshore entities.

• Commenting on victim posts with claims of knowing someone inside law enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or specialized cyber units who successfully retrieved their money, followed by urging the victim to send a private direct message.

• Demanding upfront advance fees, taxes, or retainer costs before releasing recovered assets.

• Masquerading as regulatory agencies, private cyber investigators, or ethical hackers.

• Utilizing fake user comments and fabricated testimonials alleging miraculous financial recoveries within short timeframes.

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿

Legitimate authorities will never demand upfront fees or use third party social media intermediaries to recover stolen assets. Losses must be documented and submitted through official police reports or official reporting centres in your country, like the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for those in Canada. When contacting these organizations it is also important to beware of scammers posing as them, particularly on Social Media.

If you live in Metro Vancouver please join me at the upcoming forums to learn practical defensive strategies and help strengthen our community safety network.

September 12th, 2026
Inlet Theatre, Port Moody
Tri-cities Community Safety Forum

September 19th, 2026
Genesis Theatre, Delta
2026 Delta Community Safety Forum

08/30/2026

𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗶𝘁: 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮

A while back, I wrote an article examining cutest baby contests alongside similar competitions across the art and photography communities. Those schemes primarily functioned as commercial pay-to-play operations designed to extract money through paid votes, mandatory registration fees, and inflated merchandise sales. The scheme I stumbled onto in a recent community group post represents a far more malicious pivot toward direct credential phishing and account compromise.

The post appeared in a local Facebook group focused on local mothers. The message urged group members to help a baby win an online contest, claiming the infant was the only entrant representing all of British Columbia and stood to win money for future studies. Stating the child was currently in second place with only two days remaining, the author provided a direct external link and instructed readers to scroll down to click the vote button.

Scammers frequently infiltrate local community groups or compromise legitimate profiles to broadcast urgent pleas for assistance. Fabricating a high-stakes emotional narrative, such as competing for educational funds while claiming provincial representation, scammers exploit goodwill to bypass critical thinking. The manufactured urgency of an impending contest deadline creates psychological pressure designed to prompt immediate compliance before users evaluate the authenticity of the link.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀

Clicking external links disguised as voting portals redirects users to counterfeit websites engineered to harvest credentials. Malicious pages commonly employ social login prompts mimicking standard authentication interfaces. Users attempting to submit a vote encounter dialogue boxes requesting access to personal social media accounts, email addresses, or phone numbers. Entering login details into these deceptive portals gives the scammers your login credentials, enabling them to steal your account.

The tactics observed in this campaign rely on specific red flags:

• The use of fabricated regional pride, falsely claiming the participant represents an entire province to establish artificial credibility.

• The presence of external domain links masquerading as voting platforms while hosting credential interception scripts.

• The deployment of artificial time limits to discourage target verification and provoke impulsive clicks.

𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Protecting personal data requires maintaining strict security protocols when interacting with community posts soliciting votes or petition signatures. Users must avoid entering authentication credentials on third-party domains reached through unsolicited social media messages or public forum links.

Enabling multi-factor authentication across all online accounts provides essential defense, preventing unauthorized access even if login credentials become compromised. Encountering suspicious posts in community forums, individuals should report the content directly to group administrators and platform safety teams to protect other members from exploitation.

Awareness is key to preventing yourself and those close to you from being scammed. Just like the pay-to-play voting scam, this particular grift has the ability to adapt to other niche markets, pet owners, artists, business owners and online content creators need to be aware of the signs.

Sharing is caring, feel free to share this oost to spread awareness.

08/23/2026

OK, these impersonation scammers are really starting to p**s me off and Meta is doing sweet FA to cull them, in fact they are only punishing those of us who report them by restricting our accounts when scammers submit multiple fake reports.

Jorij, you have a direct line into Meta, seeing as they are pretending to care about scammers by paying for a membership in Global Anti-Scam Alliance membership should come with some level of responsibility. Aside from these scammers, they are actually collecting ad money from scammers, they need to do better or just quit pretending they care.

08/20/2026

Personality tests, quick surveys, and online quizzes ask seemingly harmless questions. However, scammers use the personal information you provided to access your accounts. For more info: https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/01/dont-answer-another-online-quiz-question-until-you-read?utm_campaign=abtp1&utm_content=b-title&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

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