Young Canadians are significantly more vulnerable to authorized push payment fraud, posing higher risks
A recent study from Payments Canada reveals that over 10 percent of Canadians experienced payment fraud in the past six months.
This maintains similar patterns from the previous year, with 13 percent in 2024 compared to 14 percent in 2023.
This ongoing issue raises significant concerns around fraud and cyber risk, affecting Canadians' payment behaviours and creating hesitation about the legitimacy of bills.
Fraud and cyber security worries impact Canadians' payment decisions, with over half (54 percent) reporting that these concerns influence who, how, and where they choose to transact.
Almost one in three Canadians (32 percent) find it difficult to determine whether payment-related communications they receive by phone or email are legitimate. Consequently, more than one in five Canadians (22 percent) fear missing bill payments due to concerns about potential scams.
The study highlights that unauthorized transactions, impersonators, and credit card fraud are the top three types of fraud affecting Canadians.
Unauthorized transactions on bank or credit card statements are most common (38 percent), followed by impersonator contact via email, phone, SMS, or social media (34 percent), and stolen credit card information leading to unauthorized purchases (18 percent).
Young Canadians (18-34) are particularly vulnerable to authorized push payment fraud, experiencing it at significantly higher rates than middle-aged (35-54) and older Canadians (over 55) (29 percent versus 2 percent and 6 percent, respectively).
This type of fraud involves criminals convincing victims to make payments or share personal information under false pretenses, often by posing as legitimate businesses or government bodies.
Among those who fell victim to fraud, 59 percent reported financial losses. Most incidents (46 percent) involved losses of $500 or less, while 13 percent exceeded $500, and 37 percent involved no financial loss but resulted in stolen personal financial data.
The majority (85 percent) reported fraud incidents to their financial institutions.
Older Canadians (55+) were more likely to report that no money was taken but personal or financial data was stolen (24 percent versus 9 percent for young Canadians). Conversely, young Canadians were more likely to report financial losses (74 percent versus 50 percent for older Canadians).
To protect against fraud, 79 percent of Canadians limit personal information shared online, 70 percent shop only on trusted sites, 51 percent stick to local and in-person transactions on peer-to-peer marketplaces, and 38 percent use secure payment services like Interac e-Transfer or PayPal.
The use of two-step authentication increased to 65 percent in 2024 from 50 percent in 2021.
However, weak password protection remains a concern. The proportion of Canadians storing passwords on their smartphone, computer, or in an email or paper notebook increased to 35 percent in 2024 from 31 percent in 2021. Additionally, 19 percent of Canadians use the same password for all accounts.
Young Canadians are more likely to store passwords insecurely (41 percent) and use the same password for all accounts (28 percent). Over one in ten young Canadians (12 percent) have even shared their personal and banking details via email or text.
