Two new resources provide ways to take action against scams
By Olev Edur
Fraud Prevention Toolkit for Older Adults
The Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) is hoping to boost financial literacy and fraud awareness among seniors with an enhanced Fraud Prevention Toolkit for Older Adults, developed in partnership with Get Cyber Safe, a multi-law-enforcement-agency public- awareness collaboration. The Toolkit is designed to empower older Canadians to safeguard their finances, stay vigilant against financial scams, and take action when they encounter fraudulent activities.
The updated Toolkit includes guidelines on how to avoid problems as well as a simple step-by-step guide on reporting scams. It encourages those who are targeted by scams to take action right away and thus protect one another, noting that reporting scams is an important step in combatting them. The update also offers new guidance on identifying and responding to the fast-growing scourge of fraud and scams that are driven by artificial intelligence (AI).
“Scammers are constantly evolving their tactics to evade detection, and emerging technologies like AI have made it easier for them to create highly convincing scams,” the accompanying CBA news release notes. “AI can quickly generate emails and messages mimicking an individual’s style and language. It can also clone voices and fabricate realistic images, audio, or videos of real people in just minutes.”
Anthony G. Ostler, the CBA’s president and CEO, adds: “The CBA and its members continually work to combat fraud and cybersecurity threats, including convening a cross-sector anti-scam alliance, providing digital educational resources, and offering free financial literacy seminars. Through collective action, we aim to enhance resilience against fraud and scams, reducing their impact on Canadians.”
The updated Toolkit can be downloaded online.
Report Cybercrime and Fraud website
In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has announced the launch of its new Report Cybercrime and Fraud website, part of a nationally accessible system for individuals, businesses, and organizations to report incidents of fraud and cybercrime. The information gathered from reports submitted to the website will help police solve individual cases, disrupt cybercriminal activities, form a more complete picture of how these threats are affecting Canadians, and ultimately help prevent further victimization.
The RCMP cites estimates that only five to 10 per cent of all fraud and cybercrime incidents are currently reported in Canada, whether due to embarrassment, fear of reputational damage, or a lack of awareness of what resources are out there. The new website offers a centralized, user-friendly resource for victims and witnesses to report these crimes.
