Online scams are a multi-billion dollar business, CAMP survey finds

Look out — that spam in your inbox could be a scam. Fraudsters are targeting businesses and consumers to separate them from their money. The problem is global and extremely lucrative for criminals, a new study by the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP) discovered. World of Scams: The Fraud Problem at the Heart of Online Advertising was issued by the think tank on Tuesday, Feb. 3. The survey looks at national and international scams, as well as how jurisdictions have tried to fight back. “As authorities once talked about narco-states, they now talk about scam states,” the report reads. “In four years online scams have gone from one problem among many to the second biggest black market in the world, after illicit drugs.” CAMP policy analyst Curtis McCord, who wrote the 38-page study, laid part of the blame at the feet of the platforms that scammers use to hustle their prey. “The platforms are aware of these problems,” he told The Wire Report. “They’re aware of the scale at which it’s happening but they don’t really seem pressured to do anything about it.” The report estimated that Canadian consumers were on the hook for $650 million annually, as a result of fraudulent advertising. Shocking as that sounds, it is a drop in the bucket compared to the damage done to businesses in this country and around the world, which are estimated to be taken for $22 billion each year. In comparison, the online advertising industry in Canada is $16 billion. The survey noted that many frauds go unreported, meaning the true numbers are likely higher. Meta Platforms Inc. has produced data suggesting it shares up to 15 billion scam ads every day, according to the report. “In 2024, Meta itself guessed that about 10 per cent of its revenue, about $16 billion USD, came from ads for scams or illegal goods,” CAMP noted. Some of the scams are updated versions of old ploys like pyramid selling or the sale of worthless commodities. Others are reflective of new technologies, such as online romance scams, where the prey is led to believe they are in a relationship with a real person who hits them up for money. In these scenarios, demands for cash keep increasing, leading the mark to be taken for hundreds of thousands of dollars. This sort of fraud is described in the report as “pig butchering” because the patsy is gradually fattened up for the slaughter. The survey quoted the Wall Street Journal, which reported on one man who had been impersonated in 4,400 fake ads posted on the internet, compared to only 15 real ads. The report also warned against chameleon ads, where an advertiser posts benign content for weeks or months before switching to harmful scams. CAMP believes government action is needed to rein in the fraudulent advertisers. “Because scam ads still generate real revenue for AdTech platforms, voluntary measures by AdTech monopolies will always be insufficient,” the study stated. “When fraudulent ads are detected and removed by the platforms, those platforms keep the money that was spent to place those ads.” The think tank advocated for strengthening data protection laws; requiring know-your-customer regulations; developing an anti-scam framework; and allowing the privacy commissioner to investigate and enforce data protection laws. The group pointed to legislation enacted in Australia, the European Union and Singapore and urged Ottawa to use them as templates for new Canadian laws. McCord also suggested making platforms responsible for the content they post, similar to provisions proposed in past versions of the online harms bill. “I think it all starts with changing the kind of incentives that the platforms that run these ads and serve the scams have in terms of the way that they moderate and control the advertising content,” he stated in an interview. “The two ends of online scams are... victims on one hand and then there’s the scammers on the other side of the system, and then in the middle there’s advertisers, data processors and telecommunications providers.” McCord said he was shocked both by the nature of the scams, as well as the number of ploys he came across when compiling his report. ppark@thewirereport.ca

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Online scams are a multi-billion dollar business, CAMP survey finds

Regulatory | By Paul Park |February 4, 2026

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Canadians concerned about AI’s impact on environment, children: federal consultation

‘Where’s the plan B?’: Media executives ask for contingency plan if Liberals axe Online Streaming Act during trade talks

Canada-U.S. trade, AI top concerns for media industry players at Prime Time

Related Stories

Cardozo calls on Senate to study funding model for Canadian news media

Heritage minister says CBC should cut ads from news programming in new mandate proposal for public broadcaster

Rogers sued by Competition Bureau over alleged false advertising in ‘unlimited’ data plans

Tories dissent Heritage Committee report on tech giants’ intimidation

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Regulatory |
By Paul Park
|February 4, 2026