In 2019, the CAFC received 46,465 fraud reports from Canadian consumers and businesses. The total reported Canadian losses were $96,163,328.64. The following tables demonstrate the Top 10 Frauds from 2019, as reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Top 10 frauds affecting Canadians ranked by number of reports:
|
Fraud Type |
Reports |
Victims |
Dollar Loss |
| Extortion | 10,278 | 2,101 | $9,233,115.11 |
| Personal Info | 7,642 | 5,262 | |
| Phishing | 5,053 | 1,384 | |
| Service | 3,547 | 1,779 | $7,158,372.64 |
| Merchandise | 2,452 | 1,759 | $2,593,007.04 |
| Sale of merchandise | 2,211 | 1,526 | $2,686,904.31 |
| Job | 1,702 | 682 | $2,157,587.03 |
| Prize | 1,200 | 318 | $3,386,269.00 |
| Bank Investigator | 1,083 | 366 | $3,237,667.43 |
| Romance | 975 | 682 | $18,327,896.93 |
Top 10 frauds affecting Canadians ranked by number of reports:
|
Fraud Type |
Reports |
Victims |
Dollar loss |
| Spear Phishing | 830 | 445 | $21,404,827.08 |
| Romance | 975 | 682 | $18,327,896.93 |
| Investments | 352 | 288 | $10,719,376.29 |
| Extortion | 10,278 | 2,101 | $9,233,115.11 |
| Service | 3,547 | 1,799 | $7,158,372.64 |
| Prize | 1,200 | 318 | $3,386,269.00 |
| Bank Investigator | 1,083 | 366 | $3,237,667.43 |
| Sale of merchandise | 2,211 | 1,526 | $2,686,904.31 |
| Merchandise | 2,452 | 1,759 | $2,593,007.04 |
| Timeshare | 89 | 66 | $2,477,196.56 |
Note: It is estimated that less than 5% of fraud victims report their occurrences to the CAFC.
Top Tips to Protect Yourself
- Create strong passwords for each of your accounts.
- Setup multi-factor authentication to make it more difficult for someone else to access your accounts.
- Update the privacy settings attached to your social network accounts.
- Be familiar with the terms of service and how payment methods work before using them. Look for a fraud protection policy.
- Never, under any circumstances, accept money and send money to a third party. You may, unknowingly, be participating in money laundering which is a criminal offence.
- Avoid reacting automatically. Take five minutes to ask additional questions and listen to your instincts. If something doesn’t seem right, ask someone else about it.
- Note: Encourage others to take five minutes via social media by using #Take5 and tag us @canantifraud.
- Remain current on frauds and protect others by sharing what you know. Tell two others and ask them to do the same. An unbroken chain of 25 people telling two would cover the entire population of Canada.
- Note: If you are going to tell two via social media, use #Tell2 and tag us at @canantifraud.
- Do not trust the information on your call display because it can easily be manipulated.
- Do not provide your personal or financial information on demand.
- Do not open an attachment or click a link in an unsolicited email or text message.
If you think you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud, please contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or report online at www.antifraudcentre.ca.
This document is the property of the CAFC. It is loaned to your agency/department in confidence and it is not to be reclassified, copied, reproduced, used or further disseminated, in whole or part, without the consent of the originator. It is not to be used in affidavits, court proceedings or subpoenas or for any other legal or judicial purposes. This caveat is an integral part of this document and must accompany any information extracted from it.