Nearly Half of Canadians Report Being Targeted by Digital Fraud as Scammers Exploit Familiar Communications and Accounts

Fraudsters are using seemingly legitimate texts, calls and emails while targeting existing accounts to exploit consumer trust heading into the holiday shopping season

TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New analysis from TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) shows nearly half (49%) of Canadians surveyed reported being targeted by a fraud scheme through email, online, phone call or text messaging during a recent three-month period, including 6% who said they became victims. The analysis also found fraudsters are increasingly exploiting familiar communications, including email, phone calls and text messages, to exploit trust and target people through existing customer relationships.

According to TransUnion’s H2 2026 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report, phishing was the most commonly reported tactic among Canadians who said they were targeted, at 47%, followed by fraudulent phone calls, or vishing, at 44%, and fraudulent text messages, or smishing, at 40%.

The findings show how often fraud is reaching Canadians through the communications they use every day, and AI and automation are making it easier for fraudsters to create convincing identities, documents and communications at greater scale, adding another layer of complexity to how Canadians recognize and respond to fraud.

“Fraudsters are getting better at making scams look and feel legitimate, whether that is a familiar text message, phone call, email or interaction with an account a consumer already uses,” said Andrew Sigfrid, Senior Director of Fraud Solutions at TransUnion. “That makes it increasingly important for Canadians to stay alert even when an interaction looks familiar, and for businesses to continue strengthening how they protect their customers.”

Existing accounts becoming a key target

Consumers’ existing online accounts are becoming a growing target for fraudsters. The rate of suspected digital fraud in financial transaction attempts with TransUnion’s Canadian clients increased 226% from H1 2022 to H1 2026, with criminals using stolen login information, phishing and social engineering to target existing accounts.

Account login accounted for 42.4% of all suspected digital fraud in Canada in H1 2026, making it the largest source of suspected fraud by volume across the customer lifecycle stages measured. The percentage of account logins attempts in Canada that were suspected digital fraud also increased by 108% from H1 2022 to H1 2026.

Account login is the highest-volume digital touchpoint risk

	Point in the customer lifecycle with highest volume of suspected digital fraud	Percentage of all suspected digital fraud	Percentage of transaction type suspected to be digital fraud
Canada	Account login	42.4%	1.7%
Global	Account login	53.0%	2.5%

Source: TransUnion global intelligence network

Although existing accounts are a primary target, the risks at account opening have not gone away. Synthetic identity fraud, where criminals combine real and fabricated information to create a false identity, accounted for more than 14% of onboarding credit losses in Canada, among accounts opened in Q4 2023 and measured through Q2 2025.

Together the findings illustrate how fraud risk can follow a customer throughout their relationship with a business. Fraudsters may target consumers when they open an account, return to it, update their information or make a transaction. That means businesses increasingly need to look for potential signs of fraud throughout the customer lifecycle.

Scams are driving fraud losses for Canadian businesses

The impact of scams is also being felt by Canadian businesses. Scam and authorized fraud, defined in the survey as a dishonest scheme intended to trick a person into giving up something of value, like account access, money or information, was the most frequently cited source of fraud losses among Canadian business leaders. More than one-third (34%) said it caused the most losses for their organizations in the past year.

The problem is also becoming more common. Among Canadian business leaders surveyed, 42% said scam or authorized fraud have increased over the past year, more than any other fraud type measured.

At the same time, nearly half (47%) of Canadian business leaders said they are extremely or very concerned that fraud risks are evolving faster than their organization’s ability to detect and prevent them.

Scam/authorized fraud is the most frequently cited source of reported fraud loss

	Scam/authorized	Synthetic identity	First party	Third party	Account takeover
Canada	34%	17%	16%	14%	13%
Global	29%	18%	15%	17%	17%

Source: TransUnion business survey

“Protecting customers cannot stop once an account has been opened,” Sigfrid said. “Businesses need to keep looking for signs that something has changed when customers log in, manage their accounts or make transactions, while keeping those experiences streamlined for legitimate customers.”

Fraud concerns remain high heading into the holiday season

With the holiday season approaching, fraud is weighing on Canadians, with 59% of Canadians saying they are at least moderately concerned about being victimized by digital fraud this holiday season.

“During the holiday shopping season, consumers expect to see more communications about deals, delivery updates, emails, texts and general activity across their accounts, and fraudsters can use that increased activity to their advantage,” Sigfrid said. “Canadians should be especially mindful this holiday season by taking a moment to verify requests and protect their personal and login information to help reduce their risk of becoming a victim of fraud.”

To learn more about how TransUnion fraud prevention solutions can help businesses guard against fraud and reduce fraud losses, click here.

Methodology

TransUnion’s H2 2026 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report blends proprietary intelligence from TransUnion’s global network with specially commissioned business and consumer surveys. The Canada business survey included 200 respondents and was conducted June 5–10, 2026, in partnership with Dynata. The Canada consumer survey included 1,000 adults and was conducted July 17–27, 2026, in partnership with Dynata.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company with over 13,000 associates operating in more than 30 countries, including Canada, where we’re the credit bureau of choice for the financial services ecosystem and most of Canada’s largest banks. We make trust possible by ensuring each person is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this by providing an actionable view of consumers, stewarded with care.

Through our acquisitions and technology investments we have developed innovative solutions that extend beyond our strong foundation in core credit into areas such as marketing, fraud, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for millions of people around the world.

For more information visit: www.transunion.ca

For more information or to request an interview, contact:
Contact: Genevieve Grant
E-mail: genevieve.grant@transunion.com