These are the scams that affected Albertans the most in 2024

CTV News Edmonton looks at the scams that affected Albertans the most in 2024, and how you can protect yourself.

Every year, scammers steal millions of dollars from thousands of Canadians.

As technology has advanced, so have scams, evolving from the famous email scam of a Nigerian prince offering gold for money to selling fake cryptocurrency.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) receives thousands of reports of scams each month.

In 2023, it processed 63,789 fraud reports, there were 42,226 victims and $577 million was lost to fraud.

As of Oct. 31, 2024, it processed 40,623 reports, there were 28,634 victims and $503 million was lost to fraud.

Albertans account for 2,952 of the reports, 2,164 of the victims and lost more than $39 million between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30.

"However, it is important to note that the highest reported value scams do differ from the highest reported number of victim scams," said Christina Zoernig, a federal policing strategist with the RCMP.