Many millennials don’t think they would be targeted by fraudsters: survey

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Would you know what to do if you were the victim of identity theft? As we begin Fraud Prevention Month, a new survey finds many of us wouldn’t know where to start.

Millennials are the most likely to say they would have no idea what to do, and about a third of 18- to 34-year-olds don’t think they would be targeted by fraudsters because they don’t have enough money.

Julie Kuzmic with Equifax Canada says the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received more than 100,000 reports of fraud in 2020.

“That accounted for nearly $160 million in reported losses last year,” she said.

“The people who fall into the millennial segment are a little bit less prepared and don’t have quite as much of an understanding around the risks of fraud and identity theft and what to do about it,” she added.

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She says since last year, there has been a slight increase in the number of Canadians who say they feel vulnerable as a target for online fraud.

The survey found Canadians aged 55 and older expressed feeling more vulnerable, while women are slightly more likely than men to be concerned about fraud when they are outside their homes.

“It was about 57 per cent of women saying that they were concerned about vulnerability to fraud, compared to 50 per cent of men,” Kuzmic said.

The survey also found more Canadians are being proactive and checking their credit cards or changing their passwords more often.