Fraudsters exploit youth job woes and social media to lure a new generation into crypto investment scams
Canada’s youngest adults are now more likely than seniors to lose money to investment fraud—a dramatic shift in the country’s financial crime landscape, as reported by financial regulators.
According to a national survey cited by Bloomberg, Canadians aged 18 to 24 experienced the highest rate of investment fraud victimization on record last year, overtaking older generations for the first time since data collection began in 2006.
This surge in youth-targeted scams comes as the job market for young Canadians deteriorates to levels not seen in nearly three decades, excluding the pandemic.
Youth unemployment reached 14.7 percent in September, the highest since 2010 outside of Covid-19, as reported by Statistics Canada.
At the same time, credit-card delinquency rates among 18- to 24-year-olds have climbed above 2020 levels, according to Equifax data cited by Bloomberg.
Fraudsters are capitalizing on this economic vulnerability.
“The scammers prey on vulnerable people and young people today are struggling,” said Richard Powers, a management professor at the University of Toronto who has studied fraud.
He notes that young adults, facing mounting bills and limited job prospects, are increasingly susceptible to offers that promise quick financial relief.
The mechanics of these scams are evolving.
As described by Maude Blanchette, chair of the investment fraud task force of the Canadian Securities Administrators, many operations are run by “international, organized crime conglomerates.”
These groups use sophisticated tactics, including authentic-looking trading platforms, forged documents, and even AI-generated deep fakes to gain trust.
The so-called “pig butchering” approach—where scammers build relationships over time to extract larger sums—has become more common, as per the CSA.
Social media and cryptocurrency play central roles in these schemes.
Jeff Horncastle, spokesperson for the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, points out that young people are targeted on platforms where investment scams are heavily promoted and where cryptocurrency, with its promise of fast gains, is especially appealing.
Scammers typically convince victims to buy crypto, which is then transferred to fraudulent platforms, making recovery of funds nearly impossible.
The case of Nicole Amaral, a 24-year-old nurse from Kelowna, illustrates the personal toll. After being introduced to PureVision Trader by a family friend, Amaral was persuaded to invest $10,000 in Bitcoin, only to find herself unable to withdraw her funds.
According to Bloomberg, Canadian authorities later confirmed she had been defrauded, and regulators have since issued warnings about PureVision and similar entities.
The Canadian Securities Administrators warn that most scams share common red flags: unsolicited pitches, promises of guaranteed or risk-free returns, high-pressure tactics, and requests for payment via cryptocurrency or other hard-to-trace methods.
The CSA urges investors to verify registrations and seek independent advice before committing funds.
