With fraud on the rise, a new TD survey highlights a powerful way to combat the threat: talking about fraud with your loved ones.
The annual TD Fraud Prevention Month survey found that 92% of surveyed Canadians believe that discussing scams with their families can make them better equipped to avoid fraud. What's more, a third of survey respondents said that they avoided falling victim to fraud because of conversations they had with loved ones.
“Those results really jumped out at us and demonstrate why it’s so important to talk about fraud with friends and family," said Sophia Leung, Executive Vice President, Protect Platform at TD. "Fraud prevention starts with awareness, and for many, awareness starts with conversations at home."
March is Fraud Prevention Month, but conversations can – and should – happen year-round. That's because the risk of being the target of fraud appears to be growing. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians lost more than $630 million to fraud in 2024.
Not surprisingly, nearly half of the survey respondents (46%) said they feel vulnerable about being a target of fraud.
“Our survey showed that just 20%, or one out of five Canadians, are extremely confident that they could identify and avoid a scam," Leung said. "That number is concerning for us at TD, and it’s motivation for us to continue educating people on how to protect themselves.”
Having conversations at all ages
The TD survey found that despite being the most targeted by fraud, members of Gen Z said they were the least likely to talk about frauds with others.
While 29% of Canadians surveyed overall have avoided talking about fraud at home, this number jumps to 51% for Gen Z, compared to 39% of Millennials, and 23% of Gen X. Whether it’s due to embarrassment or a lack of confidence in fraud awareness, staying silent can make it harder for families to recognize scams and respond effectively.
"On the other hand," Leung said, "even if younger generations are hesitant to speak up, it’s encouraging that young Canadians recognize the value of these conversations."
The survey found that 73% of Gen Z and 68% of Millennials believe they would feel like less of a target if their families regularly talked about fraud prevention, compared to 52% of Gen X.
"We know younger Canadians are often tech-savvy. And members of Gen Z who are a little more knowledgeable about digital technology than some of their family members might be able to help others by sharing what they know,” Leung said.
“But young people can still be susceptible to fraud attempts. No one should assume they're immune to the threat of fraud, no matter how old — or young — they are."
How to help protect yourself and loved ones from fraud
Awareness and education are important tools in helping combat fraud. Leung said that TD actively strives to build awareness and educate customers (and all Canadians) on the risks of fraud.
"At TD, we’ve created a number of resources to help people safeguard themselves, and they're all free to use," she said.
Efforts include a TD Fraud Protection page and the TD Stories Fraud Hub, each of which offer advice to Canadians who want to understand how to recognize fraud attempts and safeguard themselves and their families from the risks.
For example, there’s information on how to recognize common scams such as the bank investigator scam, the grandparent scam, email scams, and credit card fraud. There’s also ways for TD customers to help avoid these pitfalls, such as easily setting up multi-factor or two-step authentication, using TD Fraud Alerts to receive instant text messages if TD detects suspicious activity involving a credit or access cards, and using TD MySpend to monitor transactions. TD also has educational videos on protecting yourself from fraud, which can be accessed online.
Leung encourages people to speak up and share knowledge about how scams work on a regular basis. If you hear of a new fraud or scam, for example, be sure to mention it to your loved ones so they too can spot the warning signs. By sharing experiences and staying informed, Canadians can work together to reduce fraud risks and stay safer online and off.
“It's important to remember that fraudsters are getting more sophisticated all the time," Leung said. “Opening up those lines of communication can be a real source of resilience for all of us."