Statistics Canada has issued a new release which found that cybercrime in Canada is alarmingly on the rise.
Compiling data gathered from police forces across the country, Statistics Canada found that for 2018, there were 7,727 victims and 32,968 cases of cybercrime. The crimes range from online threats to extortion and fraud.
Notably, the data reveals that women were listed as the victim in 68% of all cybercrime cases reported last year.
According to Statistics Canada Policing Services Program manager Rebecca Kong, an offense is flagged as a cybercrime when information and communications technology (such as computers and cellphones) is either the target of the crime or is used to commit an offense. She added that violations can involve text messaging, social media, or email exchanges.
"Some of those types of what we call violations against person — like harassment, intimidation, luring, even invitations to commit certain behaviours — can happen using those technologies," Kong explained to CBC News.
The report also found that a majority of cybercrime cases go unresolved. For cybercrimes that involve property theft, a staggering 95.7% of the cases are unsolved. Of the 272 cases of identity theft recorded last year, only three were closed. Out of the 15,746 cases of cybercrime fraud, also only three cases were solved.
"It definitely speaks to how crimes are being committed now and it's no longer the traditional fashion. And I think some of the clearance information also shows that it can be a challenge for police to solve these types of incidents as well," Kong commented.
Of the provinces, Statistics Canada found that Nova Scotia has by far the highest rate of reported cybercrime. The province sees an average of 231.6 incidents per 100,000 residents, whereas the national average was 89.4. The national statistics agency underlined that the number of reported incidents in Nova Scotia increased about 70.5% since 2016.
