From Kyiv, with fraud: Why Canada is a main target of investment scammers

Every evening, about 150 people enter a building in Kyiv to work in a call centre.

Their only job: to steal the life savings of Canadians through a variety of investment scams, according to a whistleblower who used to work in the industry.

The building on Terasa Schevchenko Boulevard is just one of hundreds of fraudulent call centres that have sprung up in Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, run by a network of about two dozen criminal groups operating worldwide, says "Alex," the whistleblower. 

CBC/Radio-Canada is not giving his real name, in order to protect his identity.

These scams promise victims high and risk-free returns on investment schemes involving cryptocurrency.

Alex, who is from Eastern Europe, reached out to Radio-Canada and helped the public broadcaster infiltrate the Kyiv call centre in order to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the fraudsters operate. 

A Radio-Canada journalist, working under a pseudonym, was even able to interview for a job as a scammer.

Alex wanted to speak to Canadian journalists because he says this country has quietly become a target of choice — largely because Canadian authorities haven't done much to stop these types of scams.

"I see that Canadians are target No. 1. I think it's because law enforcement has made no real prosecutions of the scammers," Alex told Radio-Canada from a secret location in Europe.

"I saw a lot of warnings from financial authorities in Canada, but no real prosecution. I think this makes an impression, for the scammers, that Canada is an easy target."

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), more than $300 million was stolen from Canadians in investment scams in 2023 — nine times as much as in 2020. Half of these losses were linked to cryptocurrency scams. 

The CAFC estimates that only five to 10 per cent of scam victims actually alert authorities. 

This particular scam starts with social media ads, most often on Facebook.

They usually feature a photo of a famous Canadian — such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, opposition leader Pierre Poilievre or former Dragon's Den star Kevin O'Leary — touting a new investment scheme. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also frequently featured. These endorsements are fake.