Financial fraud is a problem that affects millions of Canadians every year, with older Canadians increasingly becoming the target of potential fraudsters. In 2024, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) received 108,878 fraud reports totaling $638 million in losses.
Many of the most common scams law enforcement officials are seeing today – including the so-called "Grandparent Scam" – are designed specifically to target seniors.
Scammers are also leveraging scams like “The Bank Investigator Scam,” convincing their targets to participate in fake fraud investigations and provide their physical debit or credit card, along with their PIN.
As fraudsters increasingly leverage new technologies and tactics to engage in sophisticated scams, it is important to have conversations with older friends and family members to help them better understand how to identify and avoid fraud.
"Seniors are often targeted by scammers because they are perceived to have more wealth and presumed to be less knowledgeable about navigating online," said Adrienne Vickery, Associate Vice President, Canadian Fraud Management, TD.
"It's increasingly important to stay aware of the latest fraud and scam trends and share your knowledge with the seniors in your life to help protect one another from falling victim to fraud.”
Here are some tips to help guide a conversation about how fraud can impact seniors:
Learn to recognize common scams
Talk to the seniors in your life about how to spot some of the more common types of scams – including romance scams, investment scams, and grandparent scams. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is an up-to-date resource for learning about current fraud trends.
Protect your personal information
Remind seniors not to share personal or financial information over the phone or online.
Monitor your finances
Inform seniors that they have an obligation to regularly review their account activity. If they have a mobile phone, suggest that they sign up for text message fraud alerts from their bank.
Ask for help
Remind seniors that if something seems strange or too good to be true, they should ask a trusted friend or family member for a second opinion.
Most of all, it is important for seniors, and all Canadians, to shake off the stigma that comes with being defrauded. Fraud doesn't discriminate – Canadians of all ages are vulnerable. As of March 31, 2025, the CAFC has processed 12,815 reports of fraud with losses totaling more than $165 million.
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