According to Canada’s Criminal Code, a person is guilty of the crime of fraud if they, “by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means,” defraud the public or any person of “property, money or valuable security or any service.”
While the definition may be relatively straightforward, the fraud landscape has changed rapidly in recent years alongside technological advancements.
March is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada, an annual campaign that seeks to help you recognize, reject and report fraud. Let’s have a look at some key Statistics Canada data to see how many Canadians and Canadian businesses have been affected by fraud.
The rate of police-reported fraud continues to rise
The police-reported rate of general fraud in 2023 was 12% higher than in 2022, while the rates of identity fraud (-6%) and identity theft (-24%) dropped. Despite these differences, there were over 201,000 total incidents of all fraud types reported by police in 2023. In fact, the combined rate of all fraud types nearly doubled over the course of a decade, from 260 incidents per 100,000 population in 2013 to 501 incidents per 100,000 population in 2023.
Although these rates were up over the previous decade, other data collected during this time suggest most fraud is not reported by police. According to the 2019 General Social Survey on Canadians’ Safety, just over 1 in 10 victims of fraud (11%) reported to police the most serious fraud they experienced in the five years preceding the survey.
The same survey found that, in 2019, 2.5 million people reported being the victim of fraud in the previous 12 months, representing 7.8% of the Canadian population aged 15 years and older.
Cybercrime is a major factor
Technology’s increasing role in crime is reflected in the close to 48,900 fraud-related (fraud, identity fraud and identity theft) cybercrime violations reported by police in 2023, almost double (+95%) the number reported in 2019.
According to the Canadian Internet Use Survey, the proportion of Canadians who experienced cyber security incidents increased from 58% in 2020 to 70% in 2022. Receiving unsolicited spam (60%) and receiving fraudulent content (40%) were the most common incidents.
Businesses continue to be vigilant
The Canadian Survey of Cyber Security and Cybercrime found that about one in six Canadian businesses (16%) were impacted by cyber security incidents in 2023, down from 18% in 2021 and 21% in 2019.
Spending on recovery from cyber security incidents (totalling $1.2 billion) doubled over the same period, while preventative spending increased from $9.7 billion to $11.0 billion.
Combatting fraud
Learn the signs of scams related to government services and how to report them—these include requests for payment and personal information and the use of threatening language. Also, be aware that Statistics Canada does not offer prizes or sell commercial products online, so any such claims should be treated as scams!
The Competition Bureau of Canada has a list of common scams and deceptive marketing practices and recommendations on how to avoid them. You can also file a report of a misleading or deceptive marketing practice with the Bureau.
Listen to Episode 22 of our Eh Sayers podcast, which discusses how businesses deal with cybersecurity challenges, including fraud.
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Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).