Oct 25, 2026
When envisioning a fraud scenario, you might think of a grandparent taking a panicked call about a grandchild in trouble. New data suggests that picture is out of date.
Canadians reported $351 million in fraud losses in the first half of 2026 — but according to new survey results, the people most likely to get burned aren’t seniors. They’re young adults, the generation that grew up with greater digital literacy and often feels most confident about spotting a fake.
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That gap between confidence and reality is what scammers are capitalizing on.
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How much more likely are young adults to fall for a scam?
In a survey released by Capital One Canada, 17% of Canadians aged 18 to 34 said they’d been the victim of a financial scam in the past year. Among those 35 and older, the figure drops to 9%, roughly half.
Younger adults were also more likely to experience financial fraud of any kind, at 20% versus 14% for the rest of Canadians.
Other research is painting a similar picture. Earlier this year, a Scotiabank fraud awareness poll found that 29% of Canadians aged 18 to 34 said they fell victim to fraud in the previous 12 months — the highest share of any age group.
The money at stake is significant, too. That $351 million figure comes from the latest fraud trends report from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), the national agency that collects fraud reports. The CAFC estimates only 5% to 10% of fraud is ever reported, so actual losses are likely far higher.
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Why are younger Canadians getting scammed more often?
Feeling tech-savvy doesn’t guarantee safety. In the Scotiabank survey, 76% of 18- to 34-year-olds said they could identify AI-generated scams, making them the most confident of any age group polled. That same group, however, reported the highest victimization rate, with social media and email topping the list of channels.
Where young adults look for money advice matters as well. In its 2024 Investor Index, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the umbrella group for Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators, found that 82% of investors aged 18 to 24 use social media for investment information.
The same research found reported investment fraud among that age group climbed from 0.4% in 2006 to 5% in 2024, while it declined among older investors.
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That trend is worth noting since investment fraud is the costliest scam category nationwide, with about $139.6 million in reported losses in the first half of 2026, according to the CAFC. Many of these schemes, including cryptocurrency pitches, are promoted through social media, online ads and messaging apps.
Why does acting fast matter?
Speed can be the difference between a close call and a permanent loss when dealing with a fraudster. Many scams trick people into sending money themselves, often by Interac e-Transfer, and those payments are hard to undo. According to Interac, once a recipient has deposited an e-Transfer, the sender can’t reverse it; it can be cancelled only while it’s still pending, and only if the recipient doesn’t use Autodeposit.
Credit card fraud comes with more robust safeguards. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), the federal agency that oversees how banks treat consumers, says your maximum liability for unauthorized credit card use is only $50. The FCAC advises reporting unauthorized transactions to your bank right away. But those protections cover only payments you didn’t approve, not money a scammer tricked you into sending.
Reporting quickly can also protect you from what comes next, as victims of previous scams are often targeted again by fraudsters promising to recover their money, according to the CAFC. Of the $351 million lost in the first half of 2026, $13.7 million came from recovery fraud.
That’s why one finding in the Capital One survey stands out: Canadians 35 and older were consistently more likely than younger adults to take immediate action, such as reporting the incident to their bank, after falling victim to a scam. However, reporting fraud to the CAFC remains low across all ages, at only 31% of respondents who were victims of a scam.
None of this means older Canadians can breathe a sigh of relief. The Capital One survey measures how often people get scammed, not how much they lose — fraudsters continue to target every age group.
What to do now
- Treat investment tips from social media influencers, group chats or online ads as unverified until proven otherwise
- Verify that anyone selling investments is registered with your provincial securities regulator before you send money
- Be wary of any pitch promising high or guaranteed returns, especially in crypto assets
- Verify unexpected requests using a phone number or website you find yourself, not one stated in the message
- Never share passwords, verification codes or remote access to your devices
- If you think you’ve been scammed, call your bank right away, then report it to police and the CAFC
- Be vocal about your experience, since staying quiet out of embarrassment only helps the scammer
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Writer and editor based in Toronto with experience in personal finance, insurance, arts and culture and branded content.
