Jul 15, 2026
Edmonton resident Bonnie Lo will spend 18 months in jail after she pleaded guilty to defrauding seniors of their Old Age Security (OAS) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payments over a four-year period, totaling $179,689.00.
CBC News reported that Lo, a former employee of Service Canada, worked for the Edmonton branch as a payment services officer for nearly a decade and resigned in 2017 for personal reasons.
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The fraud came to light when a complaint was brought forward by a CPP/OAS client in 2018, who was unable to cash their CPP cheques from 2012 to 2013. The same client found that many of their cheques had already been redeemed.
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In response to the complaint, Service Canada’s Integrity Services Branch began an investigation into Lo, and found that hundreds of CPP and OAS payments had been reissued and redirected to her personal bank account. Specifically, the investigation uncovered that 176 payments were put into Lo’s personal account between October 29, 2012 and December 20, 2016.
While Lo’s judge, Justice Kathryn Oviatt, noted there were “mitigating factors” in her case — such as a troubled childhood and mental health diagnoses — Oviatt also found that Lo engaged in repeated, sophisticated planning to cause severe financial losses.
“The fraud involved abuse of a position of trust. Ms. Lo held a position of trust as an employee of the Government of Canada to distribute public funds to elderly Canadians,” Oviatt stated.
“She was entrusted with secure access to government databases, and she repeatedly abused that trust by stealing public funds intended for vulnerable people,” she added.
A look at government employee misconduct
Unfortunately, Lo’s activity is not an isolated case of a government employee engaging in unlawful or inappropriate behaviour.
Last year alone, the federal government reported over 2,600 cases of employee misconduct and wrongdoing, with 145 employees fired as a result. Moreover, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) terminated over 100 employees due to misconduct or unlawful behaviour — 78 of those terminated were “fraudulently applying for and receiving Canada Emergency Response Benefits (CERB) during the COVID-19 pandemic,” CTV News reported.
According to the CRA’s Annual Report on employee misconduct and wrongdoing for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, employees were also found to have received CRA funds in their own personal accounts.
While Lo’s behavior is an entirely different level of egregiousness, the use of privileged positions for personal gain in any amount is a concerning issue for all Canadian taxpayers. But Lo’s fraud also contained another important detail: it was targeted at the elderly.
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The most prevalent crime against older Canadians
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) — the government arm that works to improve Canadians’ standards of living — states that fraud is the most common crime committed against older Canadians.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s (CAFC) 2024 Annual Statistical Report notes that Canadians who were aged 60 and up in 2024 had the largest dollar loss for their age group: nearly $180 million. In fact, compared to all other age ranges — not including unspecified fraud reports — senior citizens submitted the highest number of fraud reports at 12,801.
Why exactly are seniors so targeted by scammers?
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There are a number of factors at play. ESDC suggests that seniors are more targeted than other age groups because of their availability to answer a scammer at home or online. The agency also notes that this demographic can be more trusting and may not have family or peer groups to get a second opinion.
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) suggests that seniors are often in the crosshairs of bad actors due to their “perceived accessibility, vulnerability and reluctance to report this crime.”
And, as AI-powered scams are on the rise, fraudsters can prey on seniors who are generally less open to emerging technologies than their younger counterparts.
How to spot signs of elder fraud schemes at play
With many seniors relying on government benefits to fund their retirement, even losing a few monthly benefit cheques can quickly erode a financial bedrock. Here are some practical steps you can take to spot the warning signs of fraud.
- Be suspicious of urgency. Scammers often claim you must act immediately to avoid losing money, benefits or access to an account.
- Watch for requests to keep things secret. Fraudsters may warn victims not to tell family members, caregivers or their bank about the transaction.
- Verify before you trust. If a caller claims to represent Service Canada, your financial institution or a family member in distress, hang up and contact the organization or person using a phone number you know is legitimate.
- Be wary of uncommon payment methods. Bad actors always operate in the shadows. Be especially vigilant if an alleged friend or financial institution asks you to pay with hard-to-trace payment types such as wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency.
- Review bank statements regularly. Look for unfamiliar withdrawals, e-transfers or changes to your direct deposit information.
Who to contact if you’re a victim of CPP/OAS fraud
While fraud can feel easy to spot while you’re researching the topic, becoming enmeshed in a scam is a whole other matter entirely. If you’ve noticed your CPP or OAS payments missing and are concerned, act immediately. Call Service Canada at 1-800-277-9914, report the issue to your local police, and report the scam to both your financial institution and the CAFC.
Remember, there’s no shame in reporting fraud, since failing to do so only enables scammers to continue to operate in the dark.
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Brett Surbey is a corporate paralegal with KMSC Law LLP and freelance writer who has written for Yahoo Finance Canada, Success Magazine, Publishers Weekly, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Advisor and multiple academic journals. He and his family live in northern Alberta, Canada.
