Edmonton police, U.S. Secret Service partner with ‘ethical hackers’ to stop $42M in fraud

Edmonton police are working with ethical hackers to stop scammers, preventing the loss of millions of dollars. CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa reports.

The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) has partnered with the United States Secret Service, the Collin County Texas Sheriff’s Office, and so-called ethical hackers to prevent more than $42 million CAD in losses to scammers, EPS says.

Between July 2025 and May 2026 EPS says it developed a relationship with an ethical hacking network, also known as scam baiters, to gather intelligence related to in-progress scams.

The group intercepted the victim’s information and shared it with police.

EPS says it identified victims with the help of the United States Secret Service and the Collin County Texas Sheriff’s Office.

“Cryptocurrency and digital frauds have amounted to global losses of up to $1.2 trillion USD in 2024. Criminals are getting smarter, more innovative, and reaching further,” EPS Chief Warren Driechel told reporters on Thursday.

“From a policing perspective, this dissolved our physical borders.”

All three agencies then contacted the victims and attempted to disrupt fund transfers, including contacting police in the victim’s jurisdiction and contacting banks and service providers to stop or freeze financial accounts before the losses occurred.

“It was oftentimes difficult to convince people that they were being scammed, because if they’re on the phone with someone saying, ‘I’m with the CRA, you’re in danger of being put in jail because you’re delinquent on taxes,’ they’re already being manipulated,” Const. Brian Mason with the EPS Virtual Investigations Section said.

“Now they’re being contacted over the phone by someone in Canada, saying, ‘Hey, you’re being scammed,’ it’s difficult to convince them that the person you were originally talking to was a scammer.”

Mason says the scammers pretended to be from a number of large organizations to earn the trust of their victims.

“Whether it’s Microsoft, Amazon, Best Buy, you name it. They also impersonate various federal agencies. If it’s down in the U.S., they impersonate the FTC, the FBI, whatever the case may be. Here in Canada, CRA, RCMP. They’ll impersonate various banks to try and manipulate a victim.”

He said the scammers frequently persuaded victims to allow them access to their computers or mobile devices, allowing the criminals access to personal and financial information.

He added the criminals also tried to persuade victims that police were the scammers.

“You’re trying to convince them that no, you weren’t actually talking to police, now you are.”

Police contacted more than 50 law enforcement agencies during the operation, including police in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, and were able to stop 300 people from losing money.

The largest loss prevented to date was $4 million from a victim in the U.S.

EPS says more than $42 million CAD was saved from scammers during the operation.

“The information that ethical hackers provided to the EPS was shared with the US Secret Service and allowed us not only to notify victims who were often unaware they were being targeted, but also helped initiate multiple investigations that may lead to prosecution of those responsible for these crimes,” Peter Murphy, the Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Vancouver Resident Office told reporters.

“We are deeply appreciative of the efforts of everyone involved, from the ethical hackers to our law enforcement partners who provide valuable investigative assistance, to the banking industry partners who freeze accounts and help return stolen funds to victims.”

Police are reminding customers that retailers and government agencies will not ask for personal or financial information over the phone, via email, or text message.

They also will not ask for access to your computer to assist you.

If you are unsure about a communication or are not expecting an interaction from one of these agencies, ignore it, disengage, and report it to your local anti-fraud centre.

If you believe you were scammed contact your local police.

“Sometimes victims will lose their entire life savings,” Mason said. “They’ll end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt because they believe these scammers and it’s not a hardship or a harm that’s temporary.”