What is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada?

Fraud Prevention Month in Canada is an annual campaign in March to raise awareness about fraud and scams. The initiative educates the public to recognize, prevent, and report fraudulent activities. New and rapidly changing technology can give way to fraud and scams that have become too common. Newcomers to Canada can be highly vulnerable to scams, and Fraud Prevention Month is a great time to learn how to stay safe.

According to a 2023 Ipsos poll, 43% of Canadians have been victim of fraud at some point in their lives, including credit and debit card fraud and online phishing scams. Awareness is the first step to preventing it. Here’s what newcomers must know about Fraud Prevention Month and how to stay safe.

A notable feature of Fraud Prevention Month in Canada is its focus on education. The campaign includes reaching out to individuals and businesses through workshops, seminars, and resources. Fraud can happen to anyone, anytime, from anywhere. Therefore, Fraud Prevention Month in Canada encourages Canadians to be proactive rather than reactive.

Scammers target individuals and businesses. If you have a business, click here to learn how to protect your business from fraud.

History of Fraud Prevention Month in Canada

In 2004, the Canadian government recognized the need to address the rise in fraud. In response to increasingly sophisticated scams, the first Fraud Prevention Month included a campaign to teach Canadians how to safeguard themselves. The initiative gained momentum, and more government agencies, law enforcement, financial institutions, and non-profit organizations joined the effort.

Fraud Prevention Month Adapts to Change

Fraud Prevention Month originally focused on traditional frauds and scams. However, fraud adapts to our ever-evolving world. Scammers continue to figure out new ways to scam Canadians out of their money or personal information. As a result, the fraud prevention initiative added emerging threats such as cyber fraud and online scams. It adapted to stay ahead of scammers with relevant and preventive anti-fraud measures.

Today, Fraud Prevention Month continues to raise awareness and help Canadians stay ahead of fraudsters and scammers. The government adapts strategies to combat the newest frauds and inform and protect Canadians and their assets.

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What are Three Types of Fraud?

There are many types of fraud, including rental scams, romance scams, and more. To make it easier to recognize, we’ll explore three common types of fraud and how to avoid them. Scams generally tend to target your money and your personal information. With more sophisticated scams, it’s tricky to spot fraud and take preventative measures.

1. Identity Theft and Fraud Prevention

Identity theft occurs when someone wrongfully gains access to your personal information for fraud or financial gain. This stolen information can include your name, Social Insurance Number (SIN), date of birth, bank account information, and other sensitive data.

When you apply for a Social Insurance Number (SIN) as a permanent resident, you will receive a nine-digit number to work in Canada and access government programs. Your SIN is for your use only. For newcomers, it’s vital to keep your SIN safe to avoid identity theft.

With identity theft, people use your information to commit fraud. This includes making unauthorized purchases, opening credit accounts, taking out loans, or engaging in other financial transactions in your name.

Victims of identity theft can face serious consequences, including financial losses, damage to credit scores, and legal issues. Thieves can get your information in many ways, such as phishing scams, data breaches, hacking, and other fraudulent activities.

How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

These steps can help you avoid identity theft:

• Use strong passwords online: Weak passwords are easy for scammers to hack.
• Don’t trust public wifi: Your mobile device is susceptible to hackers and viruses if you download applications using public wifi.
• Review your financial transactions frequently: Check your credit card bills and bank statements for unauthorized transactions or discrepancies.
• Be cautious with personal information: Be mindful of the personal information you share online and on social media.
• Shred documents that contain personal information before you dispose of them.
• Know the common phishing signs: Look for suspicious sender addresses, urgent or threatening language, and spelling and grammar errors.
• Educate yourself: Fraud Prevention Month is a great time to browse resources from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

2. Phishing Scams

Phishing scams are identity theft that occurs through electronic communication, making them one of the most common types of fraud. They involve fraudulent messages, generally, emails and phone calls, that pretend to be from trusted sources, like banks.

Newcomers can be vulnerable to phishing scams, especially if they see a call or email from a government agency and feel they must provide personal information.

By imitating familiar entities, phishing scams aim to access your personal identifying information. The phishing scam can pretend to be financial institutions, government agencies, healthcare providers, or other reputable entities.

There are many ways that scammers phish to get personal details like names, addresses, and social insurance numbers (SIN). Financial fraud is another phishing scam to gain access to your banking information.

All phishing scams attempt to obtain sensitive information through deceptive tactics. Since phishing scams are common and dangerous, they are an important type of fraud to discuss.

How to Protect Yourself from Fraudulent Phishing Scams

Since phishing scams attempt to imitate familiar entities, they can be tricky to spot. You might get an unexpected email that looks like it’s from a company you trust, like a bank or utility company. This makes them hard to identify.

However, phishing attacks usually ask you to do something that is not a standard procedure for the entity you believe is contacting you. They might tell you your account is on hold because of a billing problem or invite you to update your payment details.

Reputable companies and government organizations do not send these kinds of messages. So, be suspicious if you receive an unexpected message from companies like banks or utility companies. If you are concerned about someone requesting personal or financial information, contact the organization through their official channels before you respond.

Learn more about how to identify a scam and prevent phishing attacks.

3. Online Purchase Fraud

Online purchase scams occur when fraudsters scam consumers into paying for misrepresented or non-existent products online. These types of scams don’t only happen on suspicious-looking or unknown websites. People also fall victim to online purchase scams on trusted online retailers such as Amazon and eBay.

Online purchase scams fall under two categories:

1. 1. Sellers list a non-existent item online and vanish once they receive your money.

2. Sellers list fake or counterfeit products that don’t function the way they are supposed to once you receive them. This type of scam is common with electronics and branded items.

Learn About the Effects of Fraud:

How to Prevent Online Purchase Fraud

With the increase in online shopping comes more ways for scammers to engage in online purchase fraud. These tips can help you avoid online purchase scams:

Confirm that the Online Shop is Legitimate 

Legitimate online retailers will display details such as the shop’s physical address, phone number, and email address. They’ll also provide shipping details, warranties, and return policies.

Check the Reviews Before You Make a Purchase 

Reviews from other customers can help you assess if the online store is trustworthy. If there are few reviews or they seem suspicious, there is a chance the store is fraudulent.

Avoid Deals that are “Too Good to be True“

While you can find great online shopping deals, some deals are too good to be true. Even though these deals are tempting, be wary.

Fraud Prevention Month Helps You Stay Safe

Fraud Prevention Month aims to help people reduce and avoid fraud when dealing with calls, texts, emails, and messages. Its goal is to empower Canadians to minimize the effects of fraud on individuals and businesses through education, awareness, and action. With scammers constantly changing their tactics to target the public, Fraud Prevention Month is a great time to learn about recent scams and how to stay safe.

WRITTEN BY

Zain Usmani

Writer, Prepare for Canada

My name is Zain Usmani and I am a freelance content writer who currently resides in Mississauga, Ontario. I immigrated from Pakistan to Canada 5 years ago and have lived in many cities ever since. I have lived in Calgary AB, Edmonton AB, Regina SK, London ON, and Mississauga ON, while visiting over 40 Canadian cities and towns. I have a great passion for writing and I love helping people through it.

© Prepare for Canada 2025