Verify repair invoices — big spike in scams
A Maine town is warning residents to verify invoices after fake municipal bills circulated, and Canada’s Anti‑Fraud Centre reported $704 million in fraud losses for 2025 (up from $645M in 2024) — scams tied to home repairs and invoices are rising Raymond alert Canada scams. If you manage repairs yourself or hire contractors, double‑check invoice origins and payment methods before you pay. Canada scams
Raymond posted) a “FRAUD ALERT” on March 13, 2026, saying multiple residents and property owners had received official‑looking but illegitimate invoices. Local reports say the bogus bills specifically targeted people who recently filed planning or zoning applications and in some cases sought “thousands of dollars” from applicants. wgme.com The town published) contact details for reporting: Raymond Town Office at 207‑655‑4742 ext. 134 and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office at 207‑774‑1444, and it directed people to the Maine Attorney General’s consumer division. Canada’s agencies recorded over 112,000 reported fraud incidents in 2025 and noted reported losses since 2022 have surpassed $2.4 billion, according to the Canadian Anti‑Fraud Centre. antifraudcentre.ca The CAFC warned) that scammers are increasingly using fake websites, deepfakes and stolen identities, while cryptocurrencies and real‑time payments make fraud harder to stop once a payment is sent. Federal authorities and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service say) false‑invoice schemes remain lucrative worldwide, with scammers relying on convincingly branded paperwork and victims who don’t verify payees.
