How Canadian seniors can stay ahead of cyber scams

Nancy Lanthier, Special to The Globe and Mail

January 20, 2026

Photo by Thomas Bollmann

Bruna Nota is still amazed at how legitimate the scam call that nearly cost her $3,000 seemed.

“I believe I’m a pretty savvy person,” says Ms. Nota, a retired organizational consultant who used to run her own corporation. “The caller was extremely convincing: very polite, very professional.”

The 87-year-old, who lives in a retirement community in Toronto, recalls how she became a victim of the “bank investigation” scam a few years ago.

When she picked up the first call that morning Ms. Nota thought she was speaking with an official investigator, who told her her bank account had been compromised, most likely by a teller. He instructed her to withdraw money, assuring her the funds would be returned later that day.

“I went to the bank and withdrew $3,000,” Ms. Nota says. She was told not to discuss the investigation – a demand she now recognizes as a red flag.

The fraud began to unravel as the investigator’s instructions became increasingly implausible. She was told to use the money to buy computer-game gift cards, but when she attempted to do so at her local pharmacy, a cashier who recognized the scheme intervened and prevented her from handing over the money. “I still thank her whenever I go in there!” says Ms. Nota.

Even now, Ms. Nota says she still feels embarrassed that she initially fell for the fraud. She is sharing her experience, she says, to help protect others.

“There is a multitude of ways someone can be scammed – ways you could never imagine,” she says.

Seniors targeted the most

In Canada, phone and email accounts are being flooded with scam attempts. Research by Equifax Canada shows a major scam wave last summer, when two popular schemes – the “fake-job” and the “CRA refund” scams – affected one in three Canadians over a three-month period.

Older Canadians are the most targeted, according to the federal government’s recently updated document What every older Canadian should know about: Fraud and scams.

In 2024, seniors lost almost 40 per cent of the total amount of money taken by scams. That year, 108,878 frauds were reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), accounting for more than $644-million in losses – a nearly 300-per-cent increase since 2020.

Yet those figures account for only a fraction of actual frauds. The CAFC estimates just 5 per cent of frauds are reported, suggesting total losses could reach into the billions.

AI is supercharging scams

Unlike the poorly executed tactics of traditional scams, fraud targeting seniors today is far more sophisticated and widespread due to artificial intelligence, says Jeff Horncastle, a fraud expert and spokesperson for the CAFC.

AI allows scammers to create websites, emails, deepfake videos and voice clones that are startlingly authentic. It also enables large-scale campaigns or highly targeted attacks using personal data gathered from social media or other platforms.

“AI is playing a huge role in fraud,” says Mr. Horncastle. “I hate to use the word ‘scary,’ but it’s so difficult now to know what’s real and what isn’t.”

AI-assisted impersonation is partly to blame. A common example, the “grandparent” scam, involves scammers using AI to mimic a grandchild’s voice and mannerisms, asking for money to cover bail after an arrest or to cover legal fees.

Reports of “investment” scams targeting seniors have also surged, accounting for half of all funds lost to scams last year, says Mr. Horncastle.

In one notable case, an AI-generated video appeared to show Prime Minister Mark Carney endorsing cryptocurrency investments allegedly backed by the federal government. According to a CBC report, a retired teacher from Prince Albert, Sask., who saw the video lost $2,800. Initially, however, the scammers returned $800. By allowing early gains, perpetrators establish credibility and build trust, says Mr. Horncastle.

The tactic is also common in romance scams, the second-most lucrative fraud targeting seniors, responsible for $54-million in losses last year.

Often aided by AI face-swapping technology, the scammer builds an emotional relationship – sometimes over months – before presenting an urgent financial crisis, says Mr. Horncastle.

Scammers frequently pressure victims to act quickly, eliminating time for critical analysis, he notes. The “bank investigator” who nearly scammed Ms. Nota used the same tactic, insisting the transaction be completed that very morning.

Today, bank investigation scams are even harder to detect because criminals use AI-enhanced caller ID spoofing to make incoming calls appear to come from legitimate bank numbers.

Urgency and emotional manipulation are among the most common warning signs, particularly when messages appear to come from financial institutions, government agencies or social-media platforms.

AI-powered defense

Artificial intelligence is also being deployed to help protect seniors. Many tools are low-cost or free, says Macaulee Cassaday, co-founder and program director at Cyber-Seniors, a Toronto-based organization that provides older adults with free cybersecurity education across North America.

“I don’t pay for cybersecurity tools,” she says. “I only use free versions. I want to know which ones others can use to keep themselves safe.”

Seniors can supplement telecom-provider scam filters with free AI-powered call-screening apps, such as Hiya, Robokiller and Truecaller. Tools like GPTZero and Bitdefender Scamio analyze emails, texts and websites for signs of AI-generated phishing content.

The online scanner Deepware uses machine learning to identify deepfake videos. Users paste in video links (from YouTube or Facebook, for example) and within seconds the system flags AI-generated media, with 93 per cent accuracy, according to Forbes, citing Slovakian researchers.

To counter AI-generated malicious advertising, or “malvertising,” seniors can use “safe-by-design” browsers, such as Norton Neo.

The power of human judgment

Still, technology alone is not enough, Ms. Cassaday says. If a message is unexpected or urgent, she advises approaching it with skepticism and taking a moment to consider what it wants you to do.

Red flags include requests for personal information and prompts that redirect users outside the original message via links or attachments.

On a hopeful note, Ms. Cassaday says the “enormous scale” of scams has increased awareness among seniors, who are quicker to question what’s real and what’s fake.

Since her encounter with the “bank investigators,” Ms. Nota says she has become far more alert – even calling herself as an anti-scam “poster child.”

“Yesterday and today, I received two scam messages,” she says. One came from an email address that didn’t match the company name and the other simply “didn’t smell right,” she adds. She deleted both.

Ms. Nota encourages seniors to talk openly about their encounters with fraud.

“There is a lot of shame around talking about being duped,” she says, “but talking about it allows people to feel validated and the culpability is transferred to where it belongs – the scammer.”