One in four Canadians report having been a victim of fraud or extortion, a new Leger poll suggests.
The poll, which was conducted online and can't be assigned a margin of error, surveyed 1,536 Canadians between Feb. 6 and Feb. 9.
The results suggest that 25 per cent of Canadians have been victims of fraud or extortion, while 71 per cent have not. Four per cent said they didn't know or refused to respond.
The share of the population reporting having been scammed was largely consistent across regions, genders and age groups.
The survey suggests the most common forms of fraud are credit card and bank fraud; 52 per cent of poll respondents said they've been the target of such scams.
Thirty-six per cent of respondents said they have been victims of online scams like phishing or fake websites, while 31 per cent said they've fallen victim to phone or text scams.
Respondents also reported being targeted by identity theft, fake job offers, extortion or blackmail, investment or cryptocurrency scams, ransomware or computer hacking, and online dating fraud.
Jennifer McLeod Macey, senior vice president of public affairs at Leger, told The Canadian Press fraud is not rare in Canada.
"This isn't a niche problem … it's not even an online-only issue," she said. "It's hitting Canadians across age groups, across regions …"
The survey suggests that — at 62 per cent — Canadians aged 55 and over were the ones most likely to report credit card or bank fraud. Canadians aged 18 to 34 were significantly more likely than others to report fake job offers — 23 per cent of them did so — while 19 per cent of respondents in that age group reported extortion or blackmail.
The survey suggests that only about half of fraud or extortion victims report the crimes to police or other authorities, while four in five discuss their experience with family or friends.
Respondents reported experiencing a range of emotions after being scammed. Sixty per cent said they felt anger or frustration, 14 per cent reported feeling fear and anxiety, and seven per cent said they felt shame or embarrassment.
Almost three quarters of respondents expressed concern about becoming a victim of fraud or extortion in the future.
The report suggests that concern was significantly higher among women and Canadians aged 55 and over.
Despite the large number of respondents who admitted to being defrauded, the poll suggests 89 per cent of Canadians are confident in their ability to recognize potential scams.
McLeod Macey said there seems to be a "confidence paradox" among Canadians.
"The confidence there doesn't clearly equal immunity," she said. "And that gap between confidence and reality is where fraudsters are going to thrive."
The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
