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Fraud

Canadians more aware of fraud but must stay alert, survey says

According to the 2021 CPA Canada Fraud Study, 62 per cent of Canadians are doing more to protect themselves against scammers

A women reviews her finances.Check banking and credit card transactions at least once a month, or set up text or email alerts with your finanicial institution to help spot suspicious financial activity (Getty Images/sturti)

With the pandemic providing fertile ground for scams of all kinds, Canadians must keep their guard up to ensure they don’t become victims, warns a new study. 

According to the CPA Canada 2021 Fraud Study conducted in January, almost three quarters of those surveyed (73 per cent) have received fraudulent requests, with email (44 per cent) and telemarketing (33 per cent) being the most common targeting methods. Additionally, 33 per cent have fallen prey to one or more types of fraud at some point in their lives. 

These results come after Canadians lost $106.4 million to fraud in 2020 (up from about $96 million in 2019), according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Fraudsters are apparently capitalizing on the fear and anxiety caused by COVID-19 by targeting the public and their finances in more sophisticated ways. 

“Fraud remains an imminent threat to Canadians, particularly as the pandemic persists,” says Doretta Thompson, CPA Canada’s Financial Literacy Leader. “Canadians must exercise due diligence when protecting their personal information, keeping their eyes and ears open, and remaining up-to-date on the latest threats.”   

The good news is, Canadians appear to be already taking precautions: 62 per cent of survey respondents said they are doing more than they were five years ago to prevent themselves from being scammed. For example, roughly eight in 10 respondents (82 per cent) review banking and credit card transactions monthly.

Awareness is always key to fraud prevention, notes Claudiu Popa, CEO of Managed Privacy Canada (MPC), a provider of retained certified privacy compliance expertise and author of the Canadian Cyberfraud Handbook (Thomson Reuters, 2017). Currently, Canadians are getting their fraud tips predominantly from the media (47 per cent of respondents) and financial institutions (44 per cent), according to the study. 

“Fraud is difficult to frame neatly ... We are constantly refining our understanding of fraud indicators or beacons,” says Popa. 

“From dark pattern techniques [manipulative online calls to action such as disguised ads and click bait] to urgent demands, many people already know to be suspicious of sketchy, unsolicited contact ... It is now critically important to remain vigilant, but also to keep a strong watch on your fear gauge.” 

Since March is Fraud Prevention Month, here are some tips from CPA Canada to better protect yourself from scams moving through 2021. 

1) SHARE PERSONAL INFO CAUTIOUSLY

According to the study, 55 per cent of respondents use real names and addresses and the same percentage provide a real date of birth to non-financial or non-official services, yet these are the top two pieces of personal information respondents feel people should not have access to.

TIP: When sharing personal information over the internet, ensure you are using a secure website by looking for the padlock icon in the web browser. When it’s locked, you know the site is secure. According to the study, 70 per cent of respondents do this.

2) AVOID UNKNOWN NUMBERS 

With 38 per cent of survey respondents answering calls from unrecognized numbers and 11 per cent responding to texts from unknown numbers, the risk of getting scammed by fraudulent telemarketers is real.

TIP: Screen your calls and avoid answering calls (or texts) from phone numbers you don’t recognize. You can also Google search to see if the number is valid or block it via your mobile phone. 

3) CHECK YOUR TRANSACTIONS

Fraudsters regularly use credit cards, bank accounts and money transfers as ways to target potential victims. 

TIP: Look out for suspicious activity by reviewing and tracking your banking and credit card transactions at least once a month through online banking. You can also set up text or email alerts for banking and credit card transactions to identify fraudulent activity more quickly (only 39 per cent of survey respondents use this service).   

4) BE PASSWORD PERSISTENT

Passwords appear to be a weak spot for Canadians, with only 26 per cent writing them down and 51 per cent of survey respondents memorizing them. Meanwhile, just 21 per cent use thumbprint identification, 14 per cent use facial recognition and 13 per cent use device-generated smart passwords. 

TIP: Passwords should be stored in a secure place and changed frequently and all documents containing this kind of personal information should be shredded.  

GET SMART ABOUT FRAUD

See CPA Canada’s 2021 Fraud Study for deeper insight into how Canadians perceive scams. Also, arm yourself with information to protect yourself as fraudsters find new ways to target victims during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For a deeper dive into the world of fraud and fraud investigation, check out Uncovering Fraud: True Stories About Fraud, Fraudsters & How They Got Caught, a collection of reported cases and stories published by CPA Canada.

*The CPA Canada 2021 Annual Fraud Study was conducted by Nielsen via an online questionnaire, from January 19 to 29, 2021 with 2,014 randomly selected Canadian adults, who are members of their online panel.