West Shore RCMP are warning Colwood residents about a fraudulent letter scam that falsely accuses people of serious crimes and demands immediate payment to avoid arrest and public embarrassment.
On July 15, 2026, the RCMP detachment for the West Shore region—which includes Colwood, Langford, View Royal, Metchosin, and Highlands—issued a public fraud alert about the letters. The letters claim to be from the RCMP’s National Cybercrime Coordination Centre (NC3) and accuse recipients of criminal offences involving child sexual exploitation.
Cpl. Nancy Saggar, Media Relations Officer with the West Shore RCMP, explained how the scam works. “The fraudsters behind these letters are relying on fear and urgency to manipulate victims into complying with their demands,” she said. “If you receive one of these letters, do not respond, do not send money, and do not provide any personal or financial information.”
The letters threaten that if the recipient does not respond or pay a fine within 24 hours, they will face criminal prosecution and their identity will be made public. The RCMP stressed that this is not how real police investigations work. The RCMP never demands payment to avoid criminal charges, never threatens public identification to obtain payment or personal information, and never resolves criminal cases through unsolicited correspondence demanding money.
This type of scam is not new. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has tracked similar RCMP impersonation extortion letters since at least October 2024. In those cases, letters claimed to be from the RCMP Commissioner and used Government of Canada logos. The latest letters circulating in the West Shore follow the same pattern, but now use the name of the legitimate NC3 unit.
Fraud continues to be a major problem across Canada. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians lost over $704 million to fraud in 2025, with total reported losses since 2022 surpassing $2.4 billion. Authorities believe only 5% to 10% of incidents are actually reported.
Anyone who receives one of these fraudulent letters should not respond or send money. Instead, residents are asked to report it to their local police and contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online through its reporting system.
