Government of Canada launches consultations on first ever National Anti-Fraud Strategy

From: Department of Finance Canada

News release

March 30, 2026 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Finance Canada

As fraud grows increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect—from ghost texts and mysterious links to masked voiceover calls and phony bank emails—it represents a rising threat to the financial security of all Canadians. Fraudsters target Canadians across age groups and use a variety of methods, from seniors on the phone to younger people on digital platforms. To confront these evolving tactics, the federal government is taking a decisive step toward a more secure financial landscape.

Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, formally launched consultations on Canada’s first-ever whole-of-government National Anti-Fraud Strategy, as announced on October 20, 2025 and in Budget 2025.

The Strategy aims to establish a robust, multi-sector approach to combatting fraud throughout its entire lifecycle—from averting fraudsters’ initial contact with victims, to preventing fraudulent transactions, to mitigating harms to fraud victims.

The development of the Strategy is led by the Department of Finance Canada, in collaboration with 11 other departments and agencies, and will build upon existing industry-led initiatives to combat fraud and scams, such as the Canadian Anti-Scam Coalition.

The consultations seek feedback on three initial measures for the Strategy: supporting law enforcement’s ability to combat fraud; strengthening public awareness; and establishing a comprehensive Multi-Sector Anti-Fraud Framework. This framework would introduce new and enhanced obligations for federally regulated financial institutions, telecommunications service providers, and digital platforms. As part of the Framework, in addition to general prevention requirements, organizations could be required to take fraud prevention measures specific to their industry, for example:

  • Providing specific warnings about the risk of fraud when individuals initiate large-scale transfer payments (e.g., wire transfers, international money transfers).
  • Blocking or flagging calls “spoofing” legitimate enterprises, government institutions, and law enforcement.
  • Implementing screening for fraudulent profiles and pages, and blocking malicious ads.

All interested Canadians and stakeholders are invited to review the consultation notice and paper and to email their comments by April 28, 2026, to consumer.consommateur@fin.gc.ca.

Quotes

“Protecting Canadians from increasingly complex scams is a top priority. As we mark Fraud Prevention Month, the National Anti-Fraud Strategy is a concrete step to help Canadians feel more secure in how they save, spend, and invest. Fraud schemes are evolving at an alarming rate, becoming a constant threat that demands smarter, faster and stronger protections. That’s why our government is taking decisive action to confront these threats and protect Canadians’ financial security.”

- The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue

“Fraud is not just a financial crime—it’s a threat to our sense of safety and trust in the systems we rely on every day. From fake phone calls to online scams, Canadians deserve to know that their government and law enforcement agencies are working together to stop fraudsters in their tracks. Through this National Anti-Fraud Strategy, we are strengthening collaboration and modernizing our tools to better protect Canadians in an increasingly digital world.”

- The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety

Quick facts

  • In 2025, data from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre indicates that Canadians lost over $704 million to fraud, with reported losses since 2022 now surpassing $2.4 billion, while only 5 to 10 per cent of scams are reported.

  • The top three most reported types of fraud were identity fraud, service fraud, and investment fraud—all designed to get you to pay or give away sensitive information like your social insurance number, passwords or banking details. The top three frauds reported with the highest level of financial impact were investment frauds, spear phishing, and romance scams.

  • Bill C-15, which recently received Royal Assent, would make amendments to the Bank Act that require banks to:

    • Have policies and procedures in place to detect and prevent consumer-targeted fraud and mitigate its harms.
    • Obtain the express consent of personal deposit account holders before enabling prescribed account capabilities which fraudsters can use to steal consumers’ money, including transfer and payment capabilities, and to permit account holders to disable prescribed capabilities they do not want.
    • Allow personal deposit account holders to adjust their transaction limits to protect themselves.
    • Collect fraud-related data and report it to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.

  • Previously, the only federal legislative consumer protection on fraud was a limit of consumer liability for unauthorized credit card transactions of $50, and the understanding under the Canadian Code of Practice for Consumer Debit Card Services that consumers are not liable for losses in circumstances beyond their control, such as unauthorized use of the debit card.

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Contacts

Media may contact:

John Fragos
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Finance and National Revenue
john.fragos@fin.gc.ca

Media Relations 
Department of Finance Canada 
mediare@fin.gc.ca 
613-369-4000

General enquiries

Phone: 1-833-712-2292
TTY: 613-369-3230
E-mail: financepublic-financepublique@fin.gc.ca

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2026-03-30