Fraud in Nova Scotia
Reports to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre from Nova Scotia, Jan 2021 to Sep 2025. That is 2% of all Canadian reports.
Reports5,684
Victims3,436
Money lost$26.4M
Began with a call1,936
Phone calls led to 761 victims and $5.5M in losses; text messages to 143 victims and $600,240. Losses are as reported, not verified.
Area codes in Nova Scotia
Check a number from Nova Scotia: reverse phone lookup →
How scammers made contact in Nova Scotia
| Method | Reports | Share | Victims | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct call | 1,936 | 45% | 761 | $5.5M |
| Internet-social network | 666 | 16% | 523 | $5.5M |
| Internet | 579 | 14% | 476 | $9.6M |
| 577 | 13% | 217 | $2.4M | |
| Text message | 432 | 10% | 143 | $600,240 |
| Door to door/in person | 45 | 1% | 40 | $464,880 |
| 39 | 1% | 10 | $309 | |
| Fax | 3 | 0% | 0 | $0 |
| Video Call | 2 | 0% | 2 | $8,000 |
| 1 | 0% | 1 | $0 | |
| Radio | 1 | 0% | 0 | $0 |
Share of the 4,281 reports that recorded a contact method.
Phone call scams in Nova Scotia
| Type | Reports | Victims | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service | 551 | 385 | $848,180 |
| Extortion | 348 | 89 | $2.4M |
| Bank Investigator | 335 | 86 | $660,128 |
| Personal Info | 269 | 90 | $0 |
| Prize | 119 | 26 | $358,584 |
| Emergency (Jail, Accident, Hospital, Help) | 51 | 11 | $117,611 |
Text message scams in Nova Scotia
| Type | Reports | Victims | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phishing | 280 | 59 | $0 |
| Vendor Fraud | 37 | 18 | $9,177 |
| Emergency (Jail, Accident, Hospital, Help) | 20 | 13 | $38,257 |
| Job | 18 | 12 | $235,282 |
| Merchandise | 15 | 8 | $2,113 |
| Spear Phishing | 9 | 5 | $3,400 |
Most reported scam types in Nova Scotia
| Type | Reports | Victims | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity Fraud | 924 | 919 | $0 |
| Service | 771 | 567 | $2.7M |
| Personal Info | 622 | 398 | $0 |
| Extortion | 507 | 132 | $2.6M |
| Phishing | 459 | 123 | $0 |
| Merchandise | 402 | 332 | $370,289 |
| Bank Investigator | 349 | 92 | $685,217 |
| Investments | 242 | 211 | $12.8M |
| Vendor Fraud | 189 | 122 | $261,172 |
| Job | 158 | 93 | $939,215 |
By year
| Year | Reports | Victims | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,463 | 839 | $2.6M |
| 2022 | 1,512 | 827 | $3.8M |
| 2023 | 1,353 | 866 | $7.5M |
| 2024 | 844 | 562 | $9.0M |
| 2025 (to Sep 2025) | 512 | 342 | $3.5M |
Other provinces and territories
About this data
Source: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Fraud Reporting System dataset, Open Government Licence - Canada, reports from 2021-01-01 to 2025-09-30. Counts are reports filed from Nova Scotia; a report can be an attempt with no victim. The dataset has no phone numbers or names. Many victims never report fraud, so actual numbers are higher.