A member of the Altona Police Service joined law enforcement from around the world in Calgary, AB earlier this month to further learn how to fight cyber crime.

Constable Brendan Funk explained a slate of speakers presented a variety of material at the conference hosted by the Calgary Police Service. He said topics included cyber currency, cyber scams, cyber security and some even some items that the average Internet user doesn't think of.

He noted it was an informative and intense few days hearing from top-level law enforcement experts with top secret security clearance.

"I had a chance to meet-and-greet with a number of them and just sit down and talk, hash out ideas and converse with them. They've done their jobs for many many years, they've developed a lot of very specific skills with what they do, but in the end we're all just one global law enforcement team trying to fight the good fight."

Funk went on to say that the conference was a unique learning opportunity with Internet-related crime becoming the way of the future. He explained that more and more people are using online services and social media platforms, which makes them vulnerable to hackers and scanners.

Meantime, Funk said he was surprised to learn just how much money is lost to cyber crime globally.

"Millions...and billions of dollars lost world-wide because of a couple of guys sitting in some country, somewhere, just looking to make a few extra bucks to fund their organization...it's just staggering."

He noted that often these scammers are tied to organized crime or online syndicates.

Funk added that he was also surprised to learn of the similar scams/crimes that unfold around the world and listed the common CRA scam as an example, noting a similar scheme involving the IRS is also very popular in the United States.

Now that he's back home and on duty, Funk is sharing what he learned with the rest of his colleagues at the Altona Police Service. He said the more information that law enforcement has helps them better protect not only the people in their community but businesses as well.

And while he admitted that cyber crime isn't a major problem in smaller towns like Altona, Funk did say that the CRA scam has certainly hit the community hard and local police just can't ignore that this type of crime exists.

"We have to be aware of the fact that it exists and not naive to the fact that anybody can be compromised," he added.

Chief of Police Perry Batchelor agreed that cyber crime is a problem everywhere, including in Altona.

"This is the new crime-scene so we need to arm ourselves with education."

Batchelor added that while there was a lot of information covered at the conference that APS was already aware of, there was also some new information shared.

"It's always good to come back with some information. It's always good to validate what we know or what we think we know, and that validation comes from sending people to conferences like this."

That being said, Batchelor noted that one of the biggest challenges for police in fighting this new variety of crime is educating the public and raising awareness.

And despite a heavy effort to raise awareness about the CRA scam, Batchelor said he remains surprised at how many people in the area still don't know about it and become victimized.

He added that APS will never turn down an invitation to educate and spread awareness to the public.