RICHMOND RCMP have arrested a suspect following an investigation into a cyber attack that impacted a small percentage of PlayNow user accounts. The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) detected and responded promptly to the attack last year.
In July 2024, BCLC became aware of a suspiciously high volume of traffic on PlayNow, its iGaming site. After reviewing the data, BCLC’s cyber security team determined the traffic was the result of a “credential stuffing, a practice in which criminals attempt to gain access to user accounts using emails and passwords leaked or stolen from other websites. According to BCLC, an estimated 250,000 attempts were made to gain unauthorized access to a small percentage of PlayNow user accounts.
Immediately upon detection, BCLC notified impacted players that their accounts had been locked due to suspicious activity and took measures to block the suspicious traffic. Based on the initial evidence from the BCLC database and access logs, the unauthorized access to some of the compromised accounts originated from Richmond.
In July 2024, BCLC engaged with Richmond RCMP and their Economic Crime Unit (ECU) assumed conduct of the investigation. Investigators in this unit are trained to investigate various complex fraud investigations and cyber crimes.
Over the next several months, ECU successfully identified and traced a suspect to a location in Richmond. Investigators believed this suspect was responsible for some of the compromised accounts, and allegedly purchased stolen login information from a social media platform.
On February 28, 2025, a youth suspect was arrested. Based on all situational factors and in consultation with BCLC, Richmond RCMP have elected to proceed with the restorative justice program under the Youth Criminal Justice Act for the offences which were attributed to the youth.
“Compromising computer systems inflicts significant financial, economic damage, and disrupts critical infrastructure,” says Inspector Michael Cohee, Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP Investigative Services. “Our Economic Crime Unit will conduct thorough, systematic investigations and build strategic partnerships to advance these serious and major investigations.”
“We are grateful for the timely and thorough work of the RCMP to investigate this credential stuffing incident,” said Marie-Noelle Savoie, Chief Compliance Officer at BCLC. “Integrity and security are at the core of our business and our games, and we continue to evaluate and enhance PlayNow security controls to maintain the safety of our players’ information.”
