Toronto Police and Competition Bureau Warn AI-Powered Scams 'Took Off Like a Rocket' Across Canada in Early 2026
Toronto Police said AI scams 'took off like a rocket'; Competition Bureau warned of AI government impersonators; Toronto fraud losses hit $433M in 2025 with national losses reaching $704M.
In late February and early March 2026, Toronto Police Service and the Competition Bureau of Canada issued public warnings about a sharp escalation in AI-powered scams targeting Canadians. Detective David Coffey, head of the Toronto Police Financial Crimes Unit, stated that AI-enabled scams "took off like a rocket" since mid-2025 (CP24, 2026), with AI voice cloning, deepfake video calls, and AI-generated government impersonation reaching what he described as unprecedented levels.
On March 9, 2026, the Competition Bureau published a formal warning about AI-generated government impersonators, noting that scammers were using AI to create convincing deepfake impersonations of government officials, politicians, and high-profile leaders in video and audio to extract payments and personal information from Canadians (Competition Bureau of Canada, 2026).
Ontario Provincial Police reported that fraud had become a daily occurrence across their 12 northeastern Ontario detachments (CBC News, 2026). Toronto Police noted that scammers were combining caller ID spoofing — a pre-existing telephony technique — with AI voice cloning to impersonate bank employees and government officials during calls, making it increasingly difficult for victims to distinguish real from fraudulent communications (NOW Toronto, 2025). Toronto residents lost $433 million to fraud in 2025 alone, with only 5–10% of frauds formally reported (CP24, 2026).
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported that total fraud losses in Canada reached $704 million in 2025, with AI tools accelerating the trend into 2026 (CBC News, 2026). A KPMG survey of 251 Canadian business leaders at companies with $50 million or more in annual revenue found that among those that experienced fraud, 72% lost 1–5% of annual profits to AI-powered fraud, and 81% reported that fraud incidents involved AI (Digital Journal, 2026). The Competition Bureau noted that AI has made scams significantly harder to detect, as voice clones and deepfake video calls can now convincingly impersonate known individuals in real time (Competition Bureau of Canada, 2026).
Materialized From
Harms
Direct financial losses to Canadians from AI-powered scams. Toronto residents lost $433 million to fraud in 2025, with only 5–10% of cases reported. Total Canadian fraud losses reached $704 million in 2025 with AI tools accelerating the trend into 2026. Among Canadian companies that experienced fraud, 72% lost 1–5% of annual profits to AI-powered fraud.
Psychological harm to victims who believed they were speaking to family members or government officials, and the erosion of trust in legitimate phone and video communications.
Evidence
5 reports
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Toronto Police warning, Det. Coffey 'took off like a rocket' quote, $433M Toronto fraud losses in 2025, 5-10% reporting rate, $650M national losses in 2024
- Fraud evolving across northern Ontario Primary source
OPP daily fraud occurrence across 12 northeastern detachments, $700M+ national fraud losses in 2025, AI tools in scam operations
- Watch out for AI-generated government impersonators Primary source
Official government warning about AI-generated impersonation of government officials, politicians, and high-profile leaders
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Phone number spoofing to impersonate banks and credit card companies, victim testimony on AI-enhanced scam sophistication
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KPMG survey: 72% of fraud-affected companies losing 1-5% of profits; 81% reporting AI involvement in fraud incidents
Record details
Responses & Outcomes
The Competition Bureau of Canada published a formal public warning about scammers using AI to create convincing deepfake impersonations of government officials, politicians, and high-profile leaders. The warning described three methods: deepfake video impersonations, fake government websites, and AI-generated voice calls and text messages.
Editorial Assessment assessed
Represents a qualitative shift in AI-enabled fraud in Canada. Toronto Police characterized the acceleration as unprecedented, with the impact becoming visible from mid-2025 onward (CP24, 2026). The Competition Bureau's warning about AI government impersonators marks a formal federal acknowledgment of AI-generated impersonation as a distinct threat category (Competition Bureau of Canada, 2026). The scale — $433 million in Toronto alone (CP24, 2026), over $700 million nationally (CBC News, 2026) — combined with fraud becoming a daily occurrence across Ontario Provincial Police detachments (CBC News, 2026), suggests the problem is outpacing law enforcement capacity.
Entities Involved
Related Records
Taxonomyassessed
Changelog
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| v1 | Mar 10, 2026 | Initial publication |
| v2 | Mar 10, 2026 | Source verification audit: removed unsupported Newfoundland-specific claims (covered in ai-voice-cloning-grandparent-scams), corrected 72% statistic qualifier (fraud-affected companies, not all), fixed phone spoofing attribution, corrected NOW Toronto source date, added OPP attribution, added French translations for policy recommendations |
| v3 | Mar 11, 2026 | Removed CAIM editorial policy recommendations (neutrality policy); corrected $700M to $704M; separated caller ID spoofing from AI voice cloning; fixed Coffey quote grammar; added KPMG survey population context |
| v4 | Mar 11, 2026 | Verification upgraded from corroborated to confirmed: Competition Bureau of Canada issued official public warning. |