Frequently asked questions

Yes. Submitting a fraud report to TrustTrace is free. We do not charge fees to file a report, and no payment is ever required for us to review or refer a report. Be cautious of anyone who contacts you promising to recover your money for a fee — that is a common follow-up scam.

No. Submitting a report does not guarantee that lost funds can be recovered, and we do not guarantee any financial outcome. Reports help document fraud patterns, warn others, and support appropriate referrals. Anyone who guarantees recovery — especially for an upfront fee — should be treated as a red flag.

No. TrustTrace is a private Canadian agency. We are not a government department, a regulator, or a law enforcement agency, and we do not have any special legal powers. We work alongside — and clearly distinguish ourselves from — official bodies such as the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and the RCMP.

You receive a unique case reference number and a confirmation email. Our intake team reviews the report, may contact you for more information, and records the details in our database. Depending on the case, we may add a public warning entry, refer it to appropriate organizations, and provide guidance on your next steps.

You can submit a report without creating an account. We do require a name and email address so we can follow up on your case and verify your identity if you contact us later. Public entries in our database never display your name, email, or other personal details.

Only scam-related indicators — for example, the website address, phone number, email, or crypto wallet used by the fraudster — plus the scam category, general dates, and a review-status label such as “Reported”, “Under Review”, or “Verified Warning”. Your identity and the details of your losses are never published. A report is an allegation by a submitter; it only becomes a verified warning after review by our team.

Act quickly: contact your bank or card issuer immediately to try to stop or reverse payments, gather and preserve all evidence (receipts, screenshots, transaction hashes), report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and your local police, and — if crypto was involved — ask the receiving exchange to freeze funds. Our guide “What to do after losing money” walks through each step in order.

Be extremely careful. “Recovery scams” target previous fraud victims by promising to recover lost money in exchange for upfront fees, taxes, or deposits. Legitimate investigators and lawyers do not cold-call victims demanding crypto payments or gift cards. If this is happening to you, please report it under our Recovery scam category.

We collect only the information needed to process and follow up on your report. Data is transmitted encrypted (HTTPS) and stored with access controls limited to authorized staff. We never ask for passwords, wallet seed phrases, private keys, or full card numbers — and our forms block common attempts to submit them. See our Privacy Policy for details on retention, access, and your rights.

Yes. Tell us your preferred language (English or French) when you submit a report or contact us, and our team will respond in that language.