Canadians are being hit by more fraud attempts, and as a result, more of them are making a habit of credit monitoring, according to TransUnion’s most recent Consumer Pulse study.
The Q2 study, released on Wednesday, showed that more than two in five (44%) respondents indicated they were targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last three months, up from 40% a year ago. The proportion who reported falling prey to a fraud attempt was relatively stable at 6%.
TransUnion said 40% of consumers now check their credit report at least monthly, up from 37% a year ago, with more giving fraud detection and credit accuracy as the reason compared with improving their credit score.
The most frequent types of fraud schemes reported were phishing (45%), smishing (42%) and vishing (42%) — referring, respectively, to deceptive emails or websites, phishing by text (SMS), and phone calls. They mark a move toward fraudsters targeting consumer behaviour rather than just exploiting stolen credentials or payment systems, the report said.
One-fifth of respondents (20%) said they were aware of being affected by a data breach in the last three months, up from 16% a year ago.
Even though awareness of cybersecurity risks is growing, some respondents weren’t sure what to do about it. Many of those polled said they had taken action in the last 60 days, with 33% checking their credit report (up six percentage points year over year); and 24% adopting password-less login or adding multi-factor authentication to accounts (up four percentage points). One-third, however, reported taking no action, with roughly half (51%) of those respondents saying they were unsure what steps to take.
Financial optimism, despite inflation worries
The quarterly report, which measures attitudes toward household finances, also highlighted Canadians’ increasing optimism about their finances at the same time that continued affordability concerns have them cutting discretionary spending.
Nearly half (45%) of respondents said they were optimistic about their finances over the next 12 months, up from 40% in Q4 of 2025.
The survey noted a “clear bifurcation” among households who said their finances are better than expected this year (up five percentage points year over year to 24%) and consumers who are struggling to recover, despite declining core inflation and interest rates. More than a third (36%) said their finances were worse than expected, down from 40% a year ago.
Inflation was rated as the top financial concern by 86% of respondents, with half (50%) reporting their incomes are not keeping up with inflation.
Those surveyed said they were dealing with affordability challenges by cutting back on discretionary spending (51%), subscriptions or memberships (26%), or paying down debt faster (18%).
At the same time, 11% of respondents said they had increased discretionary spending, up from 8% last year.
In a release, Matt Fabian, senior director of financial services research and consulting at TransUnion Canada, noted that Canadians are adapting to increased economic uncertainty.
“We’re seeing Canadians become more intentional with how they spend, borrow and manage their financial health as they adapt to a higher-cost environment,” he said.
The report also noted that Canadians haven’t pulled back from the credit market, with one-quarter planning to apply for new credit or to refinance existing credit over the next year. However, they are being deliberate about credit costs and financial needs, with more than a fifth (21%) saying they had reconsidered plans to apply for credit.
The study was based on an online survey of 988 adults conducted between April 29 and May 13 by TransUnion and Dynata.