Credit and bank card fraud top the list when it comes to the type of crimes investigated by the Windsor Police Financial Crimes Unit in 2025.
As of December 19, the unit has investigated 1,747 cases during the year.
Credit/bank card fraud, counterfeit currency, and online or cybercrimes, which include online data breaches, are the top three financial or fraud crimes probed by the unit so far this year.
Sergeant Rob Durling calls it 'a very busy year' for the unit and says while the overall number of investigations is marginally less compared to 2024, the figures still fall in line with the historic rise in the number of cases they've been dealing with over the past several years.
Durling says the volume of online or cybercrime has skyrocketed.
"The ability of people to access information through a computer is becoming a nightmare for financial crime units to deal with," he says. "As such, we always have to rely on our external partners to help us sometimes with cases. That's kind of the biggest growth in that particular sector."
Durling says they're seeing a lot of suspects from the Greater Toronto Area who like to use the 401 corridor.
"They will literally drive up and down the highway and stop at a number of other cities and commit all of these types of fraud," he says. "Whether it's in London, Cambridge, Kitchener, or Windsor, it allows them to move almost freely through the province. It makes it a little tougher for us because we know the suspects are not local."
Durling wants the public to be engaged in spreading the word and knowledge about these crimes, which he thinks will lead to improved fraud detection and prevention in 2026.
"Stuff doesn't happen to you; it's kind of that I-don't-care factor, but once it happens to you, you're like, 'Oh wow! Now I do care because I lost x amount of money!' I am going to be more diligent; I am going to tell my neighbours, and I am going to tell my relatives. Here's what happened. Please don't fall victim to this,'" he says.
Durling adds they try to do education and prevention outreach to the public, businesses, and local groups because they know that certain demographics in the city are targeted, but if they reach even a few people, they won't fall victim, and that helps their caseload.
He says the case load is a challenge, but he and the officers in the unit are up to the challenge of dealing with all the fraud that is occurring.
If you have any information that may assist in a fraud investigation, you can contact the Windsor Police Service Financial Crimes Unit at (519) 255-6700, ext. 4330. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Windsor & Essex County Crime Stoppers at (519) 258-TIPS (8477) or online at www.catchcrooks.com.