{"id":684547,"date":"2026-05-21T17:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/684547\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T17:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:12:15","slug":"edmonton-police-team-up-with-ethical-hackers-to-prevent-42m-in-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/684547\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton police team up with \u2018ethical hackers\u2019 to prevent $42M in fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edmonton police say they partnered up with \u201cethical hackers\u201d to prevent more than $42 million in losses to scammers.<\/p>\n

The Edmonton Police Service says the partnership with the so-called \u201cscam baiters\u201d began last July. The hackers intercepted victim information during in-progress scams and shared it with police.<\/p>\n

EPS and partners in the U.S. \u2013 the United States Secret Service and the Collin County Texas Sherriff\u2019s Office \u2013 worked together to identify victims, contact them, and disrupt fund transfers by asking banks to freeze accounts before money was withdrawn.<\/p>\n

\u201cContacting victims was often difficult because the information received was fragmented and incomplete,\u201d said EPS Cst. Brian Mason. \u201cOnce contacted, convincing them they are being scammed wasn\u2019t always easy and often involved the support of local police agencies and sometimes family members.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some cases, police say the scammers watched and listened as victims spoke to police, and \u201cactively worked to convince them the police were the actual scammers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fraudsters allegedly used a variety of scams, including pretending victims were owed a refund or impersonating government agencies. They would then request funds via wire transfer, mailed cheque, product shipment, cash\/gold for courier pick up or cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese scammers used manipulation, fear and urgency to coerce complainants into sending their life savings to a network of money mules and couriers, many of whom are part of vast networks that fund terrorist activities such as human, weapons and drug trafficking,\u201d said Mason.<\/p>\n

\u201cScammers relentlessly target victims across borders, making their crimes a truly global threat,\u201d added Peter Murphy, the resident agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service\u2019s Vancouver resident office.<\/p>\n

In total, Edmonton police say more than 50 law enforcement agencies \u2013 in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. \u2013 were contacted. Police claim they were able to stop 300 people from losing money.<\/p>\n

The largest single loss was $4 million from a victim in the U.S., police say.<\/p>\n

\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n

Add CityNews Edmonton as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.<\/p>\n

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