But new report includes warning for older Canadians and their advisors
The percentage of Canadians who said they have been the victim of payment fraud has remained steady in the last year as consumers take greater care to protect themselves.
A new report from Payments Canada found that 13% of respondents had suffered a payment fraud incident in the last six months, down slightly from 14% a year earlier. But one third said they find it hard to know if communications they receive are genuine and 22% fear missing payments because they are unsure about communications.
Unauthorized transactions (38%) and impersonator contact (34%) are the most frequent types of payment fraud, but the study highlighted that money is not always lost (it was in 59% of cases with $500 or less lost in 46% of cases). Young Canadians were significantly more likely than older Canadians to report money being taken (74% vs. 50% respectively).
Older Canadians are most likely to have said that no money was taken but that their personal or financial data was compromised, perhaps risking identity theft or other fraudulent activity at a later date.
Fraud-savvy Canadians are taking steps to protect their personal and financial data from payment fraud, including only using trusted sites when buying online, limiting the information they share, and using two-factor authentication on accounts.
But there is still significant risk from weak password management, especially among younger Canadians, such as using the same password on multiple accounts or sites, storing passwords on smartphones, computers, or paper notebooks.
And younger Canadians are also more likely to fall victim to ‘authorized push’ payment fraud where criminals manipulate their victims into making payments or sharing personal details under false pretences, such as posing as a well-known, legitimate business or government body to win a victim's trust.
