Canadian seniors face more sophisticated cyber scams

An 87-year-old Toronto resident nearly lost $3,000 to a convincing 'bank investigation' phone scam, and federal data show seniors accounted for nearly 40% of money lost to fraud in Canada in 2024.

An 87-year-old woman in a Toronto retirement community nearly lost $3,000 after receiving a persuasive "bank investigation" phone call. Her experience is one example cited as fraud against older Canadians attracts renewed attention. Government and anti-fraud figures show reported losses rose sharply in 2024, and seniors bore a large share of the financial harm. Experts say artificial intelligence is making scams more convincing and harder to distinguish from legitimate communications. Key facts: - A Toronto retiree was nearly scammed out of $3,000 in a "bank investigation" phone scam. - The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recorded 108,878 frauds in 2024 totaling more than $644 million in reported losses, and seniors lost almost 40% of the money reported that year. - Fraud experts report AI is enabling more convincing scams, including deepfake videos, voice cloning and caller ID spoofing. - Community groups and some technology tools are reported to use AI for detection and education, and awareness among seniors has increased. Summary: Scams are becoming more sophisticated and are concentrating financial harm among older Canadians, increasing both reported losses and public concern. Undetermined at this time.