A new scam is targeting film industry professionals, warns the Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission.
Scammers are impersonating major production companies and offering fake jobs to collect personal and banking information.
鈥淓ven if an email looks legit, if something feels off, call the verified production company using a phone number from their website and notify your local film commission,鈥� the agency wrote on social media, noting that鈥檚 how staff were made aware of the scam.
To thwart scammers, verify a sender and cross-check email addresses carefully with a company鈥檚 official site. Look closely as fraudsters often use company names and emails that closely resemble those of reputable companies.
Be cautious with text-only communication and don鈥檛 share personal info with unsolicited job offers.
Earlier this month Saanich police issued a warning over another common scam, where someone was spoofing the department鈥檚 non-emergency phone number, calling residents asking for financial information.
It was the second time in a month that the department felt a need to alert residents. In February, someone was calling residents, claiming to solicit donations to support Saanich police families.
"These calls are scams. The Saanich police do not solicit donations over the phone," the department noted.
Canadians lost about $638 million to fraud last year, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. While that number is up from $578 million in 2023, the number of people targeted was down year-over-year, with 34,621 reported victims in 2024 and 42,316 in 2023. The agency processed 49,432 reports last year, down from 63,847 the year before.
Learn more about common scams and how to avoid them at .
