13 per cent of New Brunswickers lost money in scams last year: report

Marissa Sollows with the Financial and Consumer Services Commission, talks about a new scam targeting New Brunswickers.

Thirteen per cent of New Brunswickers lost money in scams last year, according to a new report by the Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick.

The commission surveyed 600 adults for its annual consumer index executive summary. The 2025 report found 11 per cent of respondents lost money in scams while the 2023 edition said seven per cent suffered financial losses from fraud.

The report found investment and cryptocurrency scams are the most common in the province. Sixty-five per cent of victims lost $1,000 or less, but seven per cent reported losses exceeding $10,000.

Marissa Sollows, director of communications with the commission, said scammers typically use social media and direct messages to target people.

“It becomes inexpensive for scammers to mass send out these messages,” Sollows told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis. “They’re certainly using AI to increase the range of them. We definitely see AI impersonation scams.”

Despite the prevalence of the frauds, the report noted fewer than six out of 10 victims report being scammed.

“We know that financial fraud is very underreported,” Sollows said. “There’s a certain shame or stigma associated with it. They don’t know where to report.

“There is no shame in being the victim of a crime. The more we know about what’s happening, the more we can take disruptive measures or put out warnings to the public.”

Sollows also noted scammers can target people during major life events such as marriage, job loss, starting a family or caring for an aging parent.

“Anytime we’re in a heightened emotional state, they are looking for those opportunities where we’re more focused on the immediate challenge in front of us,” she said. “They look for those opportunities to play on our heightened emotions.”

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