Canadians lost at least $704 million to fraud in 2025, according to data from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Reported losses are only a fraction of the harm, as fewer than one in 10 frauds are reported, the Competition Bureau said in a release.
The top three most reported types were identity fraud, investment fraud and service fraud. These were all designed to get victims to pay or reveal sensitive information like their social insurance number, passwords or banking details.
The top three frauds reported with the highest financial impacts were investment fraud, romance fraud and job fraud.
“AI has armed fraudsters with powerful tools to create highly convincing impersonations and deceptive marketing schemes,” Jeanne Pratt, acting commissioner of competition, said in a statement.
According to a new Scotiabank Fraud Awareness Poll, Canadians aged 18-34 are most confident (76%) among all age groups in their ability to identify AI-generated scams. However, younger Canadians are also most vulnerable, with nearly one-in-three (29%) saying they fell for a scam in the past year, according to a Scotiabank survey.
“Despite perceptions that seniors are the most vulnerable to financial fraud, younger Canadians are increasingly falling victim,” the bank said in a release. “Social media and email scams topped the list, suggesting that fraudsters are developing new channels to target younger, more digitally-connected generations.”
Most (88%) Canadians said they use secure and unique passwords and four-fifths (82%) use two-factor authentication when offered.
The Scotiabank survey by Harris Poll Canada was conducted on Jan. 7, 2026, with 1,514 randomly selected Canadian adults who are online panellists.