Fraud fatigue

Opinion

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This article was published 22/03/2025 (195 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The premier of Saskatchewan had to issue a statement this month that he was not involved in promoting a fraudulent cryptocurrency website.

Fraudsters had used artificial intelligence to create deep fakes of Premier Scott Moe endorsing the websites.

Also recently, the New York Times reported on rapidly emerging mini cities of high-rises in Myanmar — built by criminal organizations to house trafficked individuals lured by job promises, forced to work without pay to perpetuate global online and phone fraud.

These are two notable reminders of how the world is becoming increasingly threatening to personal finances, which are ever more online and vulnerable to criminals leveraging technology to dupe people into giving up their money.

March is Fraud Prevention Month, when many financial institutions and organizations issue surveys about how most Canadians are facing a growing barrage of scams, with some even being defrauded.

It’s likely not surprising to a lot of people that we’re pretty fatigued over having to remain constantly vigilant.

“It’s understandable that Canadians are getting tired of always having their guard up,” says Davide Manzo, senior director of fraud strategy at RBC.

Yet, keep calm and carry on, we must.

“The best defence against scams is staying vigilant.”

RBC published one of those aforementioned surveys this month, finding nearly all respondents surveyed (99 per cent) have seen scams become “more targeted and sophisticated. ”

Of course, it is likely every adult with an online presence or a phone has received a fraudulent pitch recently.

It’s likely one reason the survey found two-thirds of respondents are fraud fatigued, especially as criminals use technology — like generative AI — to make their schemes all the more convincing.

That’s not lost on financial institutions and other organizations, which are working behind the scenes to protect members.

Sophia Leung, executive vice-president of TD’s Platform Protect, can be counted among those guardians. She helps secure TD’s vast network from larger threats— hacks intended to steal data and money.

“The internet means being connected to every criminal ring around the world and they’re always looking for vulnerabilities,” she says, noting TD — like every other financial institution — notes continually rising attacks on its network.

TD also published a survey recently, revealing nearly a third of Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents had been victimized by fraud in the last year.

No doubt many contributed to the more than $638 million lost to fraud in Canada in 2024, Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre statistics show.

It’s big, bad business globally, too. The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) estimates more than US$1 trillion was lost to fraud last year.

And that’s only reported incidents. Often fraud is under-reported, Leung adds.

The best defence against the rising, tech-powered tide of crime remains a healthy dose of scepticism. Education helps, too — the TD survey revealed 62 per cent of individuals feel they would be less of a target if fraud was discussed in the home.

Like discussing finances in general, frank talk about fraud may be a bit of a kitchen table taboo.

Perhaps that’s why the young adults — generation Z — are among the biggest marks for fraudsters. TD’s poll found 45 per cent of gen Zs had been victimized, versus a third of the broader population.

“They’re digital natives … and they often offer up a lot of information online about themselves,” Leung says.

Social media influencer culture encourages online sharing, which has a downside. Fraudsters can use posts against them through social engineering.

They learn about people to help steal identities to apply for loans or to hack accounts. They can also use online data to tailor fraudulent pitches, preying on a person’s particular fearful and greedy impulses to dupe them with deeper cons (such as romance fraud).

Of course, it’s not just young people being targeted. They small fish as opposed to older individuals with more assets to pilfer.

Regardless of age, if you have an investment account, you need to beware of the threat of account intrusions, according to the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). These involve fraudsters gaining access to individuals’ investment accounts and liquidating assets, transferring the money to off-shore accounts.

Account intrusions often involve an initial misstep by victims.

They click on a link they believe is to their account, entering any passwords/identifiers. But the website — which can look almost exactly like a real financial institution’s portal — is designed by fraudsters with the only goal of prompting individuals to try to log in. The login won’t work, but by then, criminals have a username and password to access the real account. Theft ensues.

“If you do click on something suspicious, the minute that happens, report it,” says Karen McGuinness, senior vice-president of finance and investor and member relations at CIRO.

Of course, it’s better not to make the mistake in the first place. To that end, CIRO offers basic advice:

— When contacted by email, text or phone regarding finances or accounts, always verify separately the person contacting is who they say they are. Stop, think and verify, McGuinness notes;

— Never click on links from unsolicited emails and texts; even be cautious about links from friends and family if they seem odd;

— Use multi-factor authentication and biometric authentication, when available, for accounts;

— Keep anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-spam software up to date;

— If you fall victim, call your financial institutions immediately to freeze your accounts; then contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and local police.

“There are a lot of people who don’t report,” McGuinness says, because they may be ashamed. But acting quickly can help stop money from being stolen, she adds.

Even if you can’t get your money back, you are still raising awareness so someone else maybe won’t fall victim, too.

Joel Schlesinger is a Winnipeg-based freelance journalist

joelschles@gmail.com