Canada Revenue Agency turned scam-spotting into a travelling escape room

The CRA needed Canadians to recognise the scam types they most commonly encounter through texts, calls and emails — and to stay vigilant in the digital age. 'Some scams are easy to spot. Some are not.' had to become something people could feel, not just read.

An escape room where the challenge is spotting scams hidden in real-life scenarios, like an urgent tax text arriving on a crowded subway.

'Spot the Scams: An Escape Room Experience' lured mall passersby with a giant neon warning sign. Inside, participants identified potential scams while navigating real-life scenarios full of everyday distractions — like responding to an urgent tax-related text while riding the subway and trying not to miss their stop. It launched 21 March 2024 at the St. Laurent Centre in Ottawa and set out to tour Toronto and Vancouver, with malls chosen for foot traffic and demographic reach.

The activation drew significant media attention after its Ottawa launch and earned a national tour; no attendance figures were disclosed.

In 2024, Feast and the Canada Revenue Agency introduced 'Spot the Scams: An Escape Room Experience', an experiential activation extending the CRA's 'Be Scam Smart' campaign, launched in 2023. The campaign's tagline — 'Some scams are easy to spot. Some are not.' — became a physical challenge in which identifying warning signs is the game itself.

A giant neon warning sign caught the attention of mall passersby and drew them in. Once inside, participants were challenged to identify potential scams while navigating real-life scenarios full of everyday distractions, such as responding to an urgent tax-related text message while riding the subway and trying not to miss their stop. The goal, in creative director Ante Kovac's words, was to make scam awareness engaging and memorable.

After launching on 21 March 2024 at the St. Laurent Centre in Ottawa, the experience garnered significant media attention and was set to travel across Canada with stops in Toronto and Vancouver. Feast chose malls deliberately: high foot traffic, diverse demographics, and attendees who amplify the message by sharing the experience on social media and by word of mouth.

The format tests the skill the campaign wants to build — spotting scams under distraction — so visitors rehearse the behaviour rather than hear about it.

Situating the room in malls puts a tax agency's message in front of a broad, non-self-selected public instead of the already-cautious.

The travelling structure turns one build into a national campaign, with each city stop regenerating media coverage.

A public-agency warning lands harder when the warning itself is the game: making people catch scams in the wild teaches vigilance better than telling them scams exist.

The source records the Ottawa launch and the planned tour to Toronto and Vancouver; no later results are mentioned.