March is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada. It’s an annual awareness campaign by the Competition Bureau and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC).

This year, the CAFC unveiled a list of the most common scams targeting Canadians — hoping to draw attention to the rising risk people face with increasingly sophisticated scams targeted to steal their data, identity, and ultimately their money.

Here are the top five frauds in Canada:

1. Investment and Cryptocurrency Fraud

This involves fraudulent investment opportunities and fake advisers promising high returns. Many of the victims in Ontario reported having initial contact with the scammers through social media after seeing online ads.

2. Relationship and Romance Fraud

Fraudsters build a relationship of trust online and convince victims to send money. AI chatbots are being trained on romance novels and can target interests to create the perfect online partner who’s available to woo victims 24-7.

3. Identity Fraud

Scammers often use stolen information from prior data breaches or leaks of personal information to open accounts or hack into existing ones. A good reminder to not reuse passwords when managing accounts across different platforms — as breached usernames and passwords are likely to be used to attempt to gain access to other online systems.

4. Phishing and Smishing Fraud

Fraudulent emails or text messages are designed to steal personal and financial information. Recent phishing (by email) or smishing (by SMS) scams include fake speeding or parking tickets, unpaid 407 ETR bills, messages about undelivered packages, and fake job offers.

5. Fund Recovery Fraud

Reports indicate scammers are also reaching out to previous victims of fraud to offer help to recover lost funds — causing a desperate victim to lose even more money in the process.

Report Fraud

If you’re a victim of fraud, it’s important to report the details to help prevent other cybercrimes, frauds, and offences.

You can report quickly and anonymously online: Report Cybercrime and Fraud | National Cybercrime and Fraud Reporting System or by phone: 1.888.495.8501

How to Protect Yourself from Fraud

The CAFC reminds Canadians to:

• Be cautious of unexpected or urgent requests for money or personal information
• Take time to verify the message and the identity of the caller, before sending money or sharing any personal information
• Discuss fraud attempts with family, friends, and colleagues
• Report fraud attempts even if no money was lost. Reporting helps authorities disrupt criminal networks and prevent others from becoming victims

Some experts are even warning that if you didn’t initiate contact with an unknown person or entity, it’s likely a fraud. Be wise with all your online and over the phone interactions.

PRO TIP: Follow hashtag #FPM2026 on your favourite social networks for more fraud prevention tips and updates.

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