Canadian security software wins online fraud protection award from Edmonton police, Alberta securities regulator

Online fraudsters (file photo)

A piece of Canadian online security software has won an international competition launched last year by Edmonton police, its community outreach arm and the province’s securities regulator to find ways to better shield investors from online scams.

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The Alberta Securities Commission announced Wednesday that Vancouver-based Stingray Security won first place in the ScamShield: Investor Protection Challenge for its web browser extension that identifies unsafe links and blocks threats – such as online crypto investment scams, phishing websites and fake investment platforms – in real time for its users.

The challenge was created in September last year by the securities commission, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) and the Edmonton Police Foundation to help address online crypto investment fraud. The police foundation facilitates the challenge, which is part of its and the EPS’s community solutions accelerator.

Hilary McMeekin, the securities commission’s director of communications and investor education, said Canadian investors lost $310 million to investment scams last year, accounting for almost half of all fraud reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

“The impact is serious,” McMeekin said during an online conference call on Thursday. “Canadians are losing millions, which impacts their lives in very, very significant ways. It also means that all that hard-earned money is leaving our province and our country instead of contributing to making our economy stronger.”

Ron Anderson, the chief innovation and technology officer for EPS, said investment scams are one of the most prevalent forms of fraud, and that police saw frauds such as counterfeiting increase more than 85 per cent year over year in 2025, while incidents of credit card and identity theft increased 10 to 20 per cent.

“The growing number of victims and losses from online investment scams remains a significant concern,” Anderson said Thursday.

“This speaks to the ruthless and unrelenting way in which fraudsters target their victims. They build trust, and eventually they take advantage of that trust. As technological developments present more opportunities, criminals find increasingly creative ways to exploit individuals. They’re continuously refining their methods to take advantage of a digital economy.”