In 2023, the police in Canada recorded more than 6,700 thousand cases of cyber extortion. This represents a significant increase compared to 2022 when there were around, 4570 thousand cases. Overall, between 2014 and 2023, cyber extortion in Canada has become more frequent.
Number of police-reported instances of cyber extortion in Canada from 2014 to 2023
Adjust the presentation of the statistic and data points.
Share the statistic on social media channels or embed the statistic in your
website using "Embed Code", where available.
Cite this statistic and select one of the following formats: APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA & Bluebook.
Print the statistic including description and metadata.
Chart type
Number of police-reported instances of cyber extortion in Canada from 2014 to 2023
Share this statistic
You have no right to use this feature.
Make sure to contact us if you are interested in scientific citation.
You can upgrade your account to enable this functionality for all statistics.
This feature is not available with your current account.Request access
The source adds the following information: "A criminal incident may be comprised of multiple violations of the law. For the analysis of cyber-related violations, one distinct violation within the incident was identified as the 'cybercrime violation'. The cybercrime violation represents the specific criminal violation within an incident in which a computer or the internet was the target of the crime, or the instrument used to commit the crime. For the majority of incidents, the cybercrime violation and the most serious violation were the same. The category "Luring a child via a computer" also includes the UCR code 1371 "Agreement or Arrangement- sexual offences against a child". On March 9, 2015, Bill C-13, Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act, came into effect. As a result of this, a new offence was added to the Criminal Code: non-consensual distribution of intimate images. It also clarified that Criminal Code offences of harassing / indecent communications can be committed by any means of communication. Police services are able to utilize these amendments as their Records Management Systems have been updated as a result. Due to the complexity of child pornography incidents, the data likely reflect the number of active or closed investigations for the year rather than the total number of incidents reported to police. Historically, police services reported all child pornography offences under a single combined violation code, of which the majority of the offences were possessing child pornography. In early 2016, the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) was modified to allow police to report making and distributing child pornography separately from other child pornography offences (for example, possession and accessing child pornography). These data should therefore be interpreted with caution. "Other violations" consists of non-Criminal code offences, including traffic violations, drug violations, and other federal statute violations."
Adapted from Statistics Canada, Statistics Canada, 2014 to 2022. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.
StatCan. (July 25, 2024). Number of police-reported instances of cyber extortion in Canada from 2014 to 2023 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved February 26, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1456728/cyber-extortion-cases-canada/
StatCan. "Number of police-reported instances of cyber extortion in Canada from 2014 to 2023." Chart. July 25, 2024. Statista. Accessed February 26, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1456728/cyber-extortion-cases-canada/
StatCan. (2024). Number of police-reported instances of cyber extortion in Canada from 2014 to 2023. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: February 26, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1456728/cyber-extortion-cases-canada/
StatCan. "Number of Police-reported Instances of Cyber Extortion in Canada from 2014 to 2023." Statista, Statista Inc., 25 Jul 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1456728/cyber-extortion-cases-canada/
StatCan, Number of police-reported instances of cyber extortion in Canada from 2014 to 2023 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1456728/cyber-extortion-cases-canada/ (last visited February 26, 2025)
Number of police-reported instances of cyber extortion in Canada from 2014 to 2023 [Graph], StatCan, July 25, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1456728/cyber-extortion-cases-canada/
Profit from additional features with an Employee Account
Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites.
Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header.
Profit from the additional features of your individual account
Currently, you are using a shared account. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set
statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account.
If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again.