More than one in five Canadians (22 per cent)
risk missing bill payments due to concern of scams, reveals new
Payments Canada study
Key study findings:
- Unauthorized transactions (38 per cent) and impersonator
contact (34 per cent) are the most frequent types of payment
fraud.
- 32 per cent of Canadians struggle with knowing what
payment-related communications they receive are legitimate.
- Among Canadians who experienced payment fraud over
the last six months, 59 per cent involved money loss.
- Many Canadians fail to use password best practices, 35 per cent
store passwords in their smartphone, computer, email or notebook,
and 19 per cent use the same password for all their accounts.
OTTAWA,
ON, July 29, 2024 /CNW/ - More than one in 10
Canadians have experienced payment fraud in the past
six months, indicating similar year-over-year patterns (13 per cent
in 2024 compared to 14 per cent in 2023), according to a new study
from Payments Canada. For many Canadians, concern around
fraud and cyber risk impacts their payment behaviours
and creates hesitation around paying bills out of concern if they
are legitimate or a potential scam.
![Payments Canada (CNW Group/Payments Canada) Payments Canada (CNW Group/Payments Canada)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2470135/Payments_Canada_Majority_of_Canadians_alter_payment_habits_due_t.jpg)
Fraud and cyber security concerns influence
Canadians' payment behaviour: The prevalence of
fraud and cyber incidents impact the payment
preferences and behaviours for more than half of Canadians (54 per
cent), including who, how and where they choose to transact. Almost
one in three Canadians (32 per cent) struggle with knowing what
payment-related communications they receive by telephone or email
are legitimate versus a potential scam. More than one in five
Canadians (22 per cent) feel they are at risk of missing their bill
payments because they avoid responding to payment-related
communications due to concerns that they could be potential
scams.
Unauthorized transactions, impersonators and credit card
fraud are the top three types of
fraud: The top types of payment fraud
experienced by Canadians are: 1) Unauthorized transactions
appearing on a bank or credit card statement (38 per cent); 2)
Impersonator contact, meaning someone contacting them via email,
telephone, SMS text or social media and pretending to be someone
else (34 per cent); and 3) Stolen credit card information resulting
in an unauthorized purchase (18 per cent).
Young Canadians are more likely to experience and fall victim
to authorized push payment fraud: Young Canadians
(18-34) were significantly more likely than middle-aged (35-54) and
older Canadians (over 55) to have recently experienced authorized
push payment fraud (29 per cent versus two per cent
and six per cent respectively). Authorized push payment
fraud refers to situations in which criminals
manipulate their victims into making payments or sharing personal
details under false pretences. Often, fraudsters pose as a
well-known, legitimate business or government body to win a
victim's trust. These scams are called 'authorized' because they
depend on the victim to transfer money voluntarily. Since young
Canadians are more likely to send/receive money to/from a friend or
family member using social media platforms (like Instagram,
WhatsApp and Messenger) and regularly use other electronic payment
methods besides credit cards and prepaid cards, as compared to
other age groups, their overall risk exposure for push payment
fraud is higher.
Among Canadians who fell victim to fraud, 59 per
cent involved money loss: Of respondents who experienced
payment fraud in the last six months, incidents
involving money loss were $500 or
less (46 per cent), while 13 per cent were over $500 and 37 per cent resulted in no money taken
in the fraud incident but did result in stolen
personal financial data. The majority (85 per cent) of those who
experienced payment fraud involving money loss in the
past six months reported it to their financial institution.
Older Canadians were most likely to report no money being
taken but personal and/or financial data was: Of those who
experienced payment fraud in the last six months,
older Canadians (55+) were significantly more likely than young
Canadians (18-34) to report no money being taken but
personal/financial data was (nine per cent vs. 24 percent
respectively). Young Canadians were significantly more likely than
older Canadians to report money being taken (74 per cent vs. 50
percent respectively).
Canadians limit information sharing and leverage two-step
authentication to help protect against fraud: Most
Canadians from the survey (79 per cent) limit the amount of
personal information they share online and only provide it when
required. Further, 70 per cent of Canadians only shop with trusted
sites when buying online. When buying or selling items online on
peer-to-peer marketplaces (for example, Kijiji, Craigslist), 51 per
cent of Canadians stick to local and in-person transactions and 38
per cent use secure payment services like Interac e-Transfer
or PayPal. The number of Canadians who enable two-step
authentication for accessing their accounts increased
year-over-year (65 per cent in 2024 from 50 per cent in 2021).
Weak password protection management creates
fraud risks for Canadians: Despite the steps
Canadians are taking, there is still room for improvement. The
proportion of Canadians saying they store their passwords on their
smartphone, computer/laptop, or in an email or paper notebook
increased to 35 per cent in 2024 from 31 per cent in 2021. Another
19 per cent of Canadians tend to use the same password for all
their accounts.
Young Canadians are significantly more likely than other age
groups to store their passwords on their smartphone, personal
computer, in an email or a notebook (41 per cent) and use the same
password for all their accounts (28 per cent). Over one in 10 young
Canadians (12 per cent) have even given out their personal and
banking details via email or text message.
About the study: 1,500 Canadians were interviewed
online between February 26-March 8,
2024, using Leger's online panel. The margin of error for
this study was +/ 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
About Payments Canada: Payments Canada makes payments easier, smarter and
safer for people living in Canada
by providing secure and resilient infrastructure where payments are
cleared and settled between financial institutions. We are a public
purpose organization that owns and operates Canada's payment systems, Lynx and the
Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) and are responsible for
the bylaws, rules, and standards that support these systems. In
2023, our systems cleared and settled over $112 trillion — more than $450 billion every business day. Some of the
transactions that pass through our systems include debit card
payments, pre-authorized debits, direct deposits, bill payments,
wire payments and cheques. Payments are an essential part of our
economy and way of life. From a down payment on a home, an invoice
paid to a local business, money sent to a family member abroad, or
a first paycheque﹘payments keep Canadians and the economy moving
forward.
For media inquiries, please visit Payments
Canada's media
centre.
SOURCE Payments Canada