Cyber Crime Help Centre

With the evolution of cyber crimes, the risk of being a victim of a cyber crime has increased significantly as the world continues to become more digital than ever before.

Shutterstock

If you find yourself, or someone you know to have become a victim of cyber crime, it is important to act immediately by doing the following:

• Contact your local police department to file a report of the crime.

• Report the crime to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at https://reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca

  • Another resource for reporting https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/incident-management

  • You can also report the crime over the phone (Toll free: 1-888-495-8501).

    • Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 4:45pm EST (Closed on Holidays).

  • Whether you are the victim or a witness of the crime.

  • You can also report anonymously if you wish.

• Secure your accounts

  • Change passwords and pins, as well as add a Multi-factor authentication if available.

• Contact financial institutions

  • If you were a victim of a financial crime, this step is extremely important to alert your banks or credit unions.

  • Contact your financial institution's fraud department to report fraudulent activity on your account.

  • If your personal information that is linked to your financial accounts has been compromised, freezing or locking these accounts can help prevent further cyber crimes from occurring.

• Keep documents and notes of the crime

  • Keep notes of the crime (time, dates, personal accounts affected, etc).

• Contact Service Canada

  • If you suspect, or have had, your Social Insurance Number (SIN) or Identification has been stolen, it must be reported to Service Canada for identity theft.

Being proactive and acting immediately can help resolve the crime and prevent further crimes from occurring before it is reported.

Be sure to check with your local police and provincial governments to understand the steps needed to take in order to report the crime - steps may vary from city to city or province to province.

References

Pattison-Gordon, J. (2024). Shutterstock [Image]. Government Technology. Retrieved from https://www.govtech.com/security/whats-it-like-to-be-the-victim-of-cyber-crimes

Government of Canada. (2025). Report a cyber incident. Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. Retrieved from https://www.cyber.gc.ca/en/incident-management 

Government of Canada. (2025). Report fraud and cybercrime. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Retrieved from https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. (2018). What you need to know about mandatory 

reporting of breaches of security safeguards. Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Retrieved from https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/business-privacy/breaches-and-safeguards/privacy-breaches-at-your-business/gd_pb_201810/