Cross-Border Fraud Is Testing Canadian Police as Most Quebec Cases Lead to No Charges
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Canadian fraud investigations are struggling to keep pace with criminal networks that can target thousands of people using automated messages, artificial intelligence and operations spanning multiple countries.
In a report published Thursday, October 15, fraud prevention specialist Simon Marchand told TVA Nouvelles that inexpensive phishing services have made large-scale scams easier to operate. AI-generated communications are also making fraudulent messages harder to distinguish from legitimate ones.
The difficulty of bringing offenders to court is reflected in a September 2025 investigation by the Journal de Montréal. It found that nearly 90% of fraud files reported to major Quebec police services had not resulted in criminal charges. Of more than 150,000 cases opened since 2019, just 13,015 had led to charges, although some investigations remained ongoing.
Andréanne Bergeron, a digital forensics researcher at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, identified the international nature of fraud as a major enforcement challenge. Victims, perpetrators and financial transfers may be located in different jurisdictions, complicating evidence gathering and prosecution.
Ottawa is pursuing changes to its response, including legislation to establish a Financial Crimes Agency with powers to investigate sophisticated financial crime and support asset recovery. Separately, amendments to federal banking legislation are intended to strengthen fraud detection and consumer protections.
