After surfacing in Surrey and Brampton, the menace of extortion targeting Punjabi business owners has reached Vancouver, where builders have slowed work and want their phone numbers and project details erased from public records for their safety.According to OMNI News, Canada’s multi- lingual news service, Punjabi builders in Vancouver are pulling down job-site signs and scrubbing their online and public presence as a wave of extortion threats now spreads across the city’s Punjabi business community.“Most people think this is a Surrey problem, but it’s spreading,” one builder told OMNI News. “We are living in fear. People are removing signs so they aren’t targeted next.”Builders have urged authorities to restrict public access to contact details and project information available on city websites. However, many feel their pleas have not been taken seriously.The builders reported receiving extortion calls and expressed real fear that they could be the next victims. As a result, some have delayed or cancelled projects even as the city grapples with a historic housing shortage.The Vancouver Police Department has confirmed four active extortion investigations in the city, though officials admit that the actual number of victims is likely to be much higher.Builders have also criticised policies at Vancouver City Hall, arguing that transparency measures have inadvertently created a ready directory for criminals.Anyone can access a developer’s name, phone number and project details through public records, turning such information into a liability amid multi-million-dollar extortion threats, Punjabi builders told OMNI news.The extortion crisis first escalated in Surrey and Brampton, where Punjabi and South Asian business owners have faced months of threats, often followed by violence.In Surrey alone, police handled 132 extortion attempts in 2025, including 49 cases involving shots fired at homes, businesses and vehicles. The city witnessed multiple high-profile shooting incidents linked to these threats, prompting Mayor Brenda Locke to call for a federal state of emergency earlier this year after dozens of cases were reported in January alone.Similar patterns have gripped Brampton and the Peel region, where nearly 500 extortion cases have been reported annually since 2023. Many incidents have involved drive-by shootings, arson attacks and intimidation that forced some families to flee Canada for safety.Recent incidents involved bullets fired at residences and businesses, with young men from Punjab-linked networks often implicated in the attacks.Police in Vancouver have urged victims to come forward immediately rather than handle threats alone, warning that silence only emboldens the criminals.