Survey shows concerns over AI-powered fraud growing in Canada

There is growing concern that AI is making scams less detectable.

Nearly one-in-four Canadians say they or a family member have been a victim of financial fraud in the past year, according to a new survey by TD.

The survey, which was conducted by Léger, ran from Dec. 18, 2025, to Jan. 5, polling 1,517 Canadians and 262 Canadian business owners.

Seventy five per cent of Canadians say advancements in AI are making them feel more vulnerable to financial fraud, and 82 per cent say scams are becoming increasingly harder to spot.

Security expert David Shippley says everyone should be a little skeptical in the world of AI.

“Microsoft has shown that these generative AI tools have increased the effectiveness of phishing emails from about a 12 per cent success rate to a 54 per cent success rate.”

“We’ve been able to prove that when people trust technology too much and it hasn’t earned that trust they face the chance of falling victim to scam.”

The survey also found 86 per cent of Canadians are more concerned about fraud than they were five years ago.

The findings highlight how common it is for people to take part in activities that could result in scams. Around 52 per cent of those polled engaged in activities which could’ve resulted in fraud including:

• 18 per cent using public Wi-Fi for personal or financial accounts
• 15 per cent opening email attachments from unknown sender
• 15 per cent clicking links in texts or emails before verifying the sender
• 13 per cent engaging with questionable online offers
• 11 per cent downloading apps or software from unfamiliar sources

TD also says many Canadians aren’t proactively educating themselves on preventing fraud, with 41 per cent saying they never consult resources or seek fraud prevention advice, and 42 per cent say they only do so a few times per year or less.

“With the rise of AI tools and capabilities across the globe, AI fraud is becoming harder to detect and harder for consumers to identify as potentially being a fraud and scam,” said Kevin Wicks, manager of fraud education at TD.

“With deep fake messages, social media spoofed phone calls or even spoofed voices in audio, these become increasingly harder for us as an institution to detect and for consumers to detect.”

Business owners are also feeling the pressure of frauds, with 46 per cent of business owners surveyed saying they’ve dealt with at least one fraud or scam attempt in the past year.

Sixty six per cent of business owners feel like they’re more exposed now than previous years, and 61 per cent see AI-driven crime as a major threat.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Hafsa Arif.