Have you ever lost a deposit for an internet purchase? Rented a chalet whose color you have never seen? A network of a hundred bogus students from West Africa based in Quebec is increasing fraud on classified ad sites, claiming “several hundred victims”, according to an intelligence report obtained by The Press.
The group, referred to as “African Organized Crime” by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), also allegedly defrauded the Canada Emergency Response Benefit of at least $250,000.
“Members of African organized crime are implicated in Quebec in a panoply of phishing frauds on the Internet”, indicates the intelligence report of the CBSA.
Monthly member incomes range between $25,000 and $30,000 per topic.
Extract from the intelligence report of the Canada Border Services Agency
The network would have “nearly 100 suspects”, many of whom “are interrelated”, because either they are accomplices in the same frauds, or they use the same virtual accounts. In total, the CBSA has detected 3 million in suspicious money transiting through the accounts of its members, an amount which would represent “only the tip of the iceberg”.
“The study permit seems […] be used as a gateway to Canada and thus to the criminal activities of the subjects,” continues the report, dated 2021.
The document was recently used by the federal government to obtain the deportation of Derrick Toihoun, a Benin national who arrived in Quebec on a student visa. This individual would have opened accounts with at least four financial institutions, in which transited tens of thousands of dollars in a few months, bound for his country of origin.
“Mr. Toihoun has engaged, in the context of transnational crime, in the activities of laundering the proceeds of crime of African organized crime,” concluded Immigration Commissioner Élise Leclerc-Gagné, in a decision rendered l last winter.
A plethora of frauds
According to the report, members of the network engage in a plethora of types of fraud, including methods traditionally associated with fraudsters who are instead physically located in West Africa.
Some types of fraud the network is suspected of:
- consumer fraud : the victim believes to pay a sum for the purchase of a car, a container, an animal or the rental of an apartment. The fraudster disappears after cashing the money.
- love fraud : the fraudster charms his victim by making him believe that he is abroad and that he needs money to join her. The fraudster pulls out as much money as he can before the victim discovers the pot of roses.
- CERB fraud : the network allegedly stole the identities of 29 Canadians to illegally claim a Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) check during the pandemic.
- loan fraud : the fraudster pretends to offer loans on favorable terms and demands various preliminary fees from the borrower before disappearing into thin air.
“Payments are still demanded by Interac e-Transfer, money transfers, gift cards, prepaid credit cards and cryptocurrency, and the suspects are using multiple pseudonyms, email addresses and social networks fabricated for the circumstances, indicates the document. Analysis of money movements demonstrates that a certain percentage of the money derived from fraud is sent to Africa or laundered via money transfer companies, used vehicle dealers or vehicle export companies (often stolen) in Africa. »
Only 20% of the victims would have filed a complaint.
Situation “more than ridiculous”
In the opinion of Michel Carlos, ex-responsible for economic crimes at the Sûreté du Québec and ex-director of investigations at the National Bank, this report should be sent to the police, if it has not already been done.
“It’s an organized criminal network,” he said after consulting the report. It would be interesting to carry out a large-scale criminal investigation, because the amounts are still high and it is structured. »
According to him, it is also necessary to raise awareness among foreign students and those who are thinking of becoming one, in order to make them understand that involvement in this type of network can plunge them into serious problems.
A former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and of the Charbonneau commission, Jonathan Légaré is now head of the intelligence firm Vidocq. He is sorry to see networks like the one described by the CBSA prosper in Quebec.
“The situation has become more than ridiculous in Canada in terms of the fight against financial crime,” said Mr. Légaré.
For 10 years, it has only increased. Since the pandemic, it’s stratospheric, the increase. The announcements that the government makes are shots. It’s nothing.
Jonathan Légaré, of the intelligence firm Vidocq
In his opinion, if 300 police officers and civilians fight against corruption within the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC), as many resources should be devoted to the fight against fraud. “The gap between where we are and where we should be is huge,” he added.
The Press requested a copy of the report, of a public nature since it was filed in a public hearing, with the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) at the end of May.
The federal government then went to an immigration judge, without ever warning The Press, to request that the document be subject to a publication ban or that it be extensively edited. 1er last June, still without notifying the main interested parties , THE Immigration Commissioner Yves Dumoulin partly agreed with Ottawa by imposing a confidentiality order on the majority of the report’s pages.