The federal immigration minister is urging Canadians and prospective newcomers to remain vigilant against immigration scams as part of Fraud Prevention Month.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Lena Metlege Diab said fraudsters are increasingly using evolving technologies to exploit people hoping to come to Canada.
In a statement Monday, Diab called on the public to take three steps to combat immigration fraud: spot warning signs, stop before acting, and report suspicious activity.
“Fraudsters are finding new ways to exploit people hoping to come to Canada,” Diab said. “Our message is clear: we will continue to take strong actions to detect, deter, and prevent immigration and citizenship fraud.”
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The minister said warning signs can include pressure to act quickly, requests for large cash payments, or promises of guaranteed visas or faster processing…
THE HASHFLARE “CLOUD MINING” PONZI SCHEME (GLOBAL/ESTONIA)
Date: February 13, 2025 (Guilty Pleas) Perpetrators: Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin
Case Description: This $577 million cryptocurrency fraud remains one of the largest digital asset scams in history, with major legal developments concluding in 2025. Potapenko and Turogin operated “Hashflare,” which they marketed as a massive cryptocurrency mining operation. Hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide purchased “mining contracts,” believing they were renting hash power to mine Bitcoin. In reality, the duo was running a sophisticated Ponzi scheme.
They created fake customer dashboards that showed “real-time” mining profits, but the money being paid out was simply the capital of newer investors. They laundered the proceeds through shell companies to purchase luxury real estate and a fleet of high-end vehicles. After a massive international investigation involving the FBI and Estonian authorities, the pair agreed to forfeit over $400 million in assets. This case underscores the “Cyber-enabled Fraud” warning issued by the FATF in early 2026: as technology evolves, the scale of fraud moves from local millions to global billions in the blink of an eye.
Link to Original: ACFE – High Profile Fraud of 2025