Jan. 9, 2015, Toronto – Credit card
fraud has impacted one in 10 consumers in Canada in the last two year, suggests new research from Mintel.
Jan. 9, 2015, Toronto – Credit card
fraud has impacted one in 10 consumers in Canada in the last two year, suggests new research from Mintel.
It is 35-44-year-olds (14 per cent), Chinese Canadians (14 per cent) and those
from households with income of $100,000 or more (14 per cent) who are more
likely to have experienced credit card fraud in the last two years.
Furthermore, one in 20 (five per cent) of Canadian consumers have been the
victim of a phone scam and nearly the same number victims of cash theft
(four per cent) and debit card fraud (four per cent). Some two per cent of Canadian consumers have been
victims of identity fraud over the same period.
Despite all this, less than a quarter of Canadians (23 per cent) have been a
victim of any fraudulent activity in the past two years. Older Canadians
(over-55s: 16 per cent), lower-income consumers (16 per cent) and those from the
Atlantic Provinces (14 per cent) were among the most vigilant, in terms of
avoiding theft or fraud. On the other hand, Ontarians are less
fortunate, with 26 per cent of them having experienced some form of theft or
fraud in the past two years.
Mintel research also finds that Canadian consumers are indeed wary of
contactless cards, with 13 per cent of shoppers who haven’t used them in the
last three months agreeing that they are worried about identity theft.
Meanwhile, six per cent are fearful of physical theft or losing the card
and five per cent are concerned about unauthorized payments being
charged.
“The fact that one in 10 Canadian consumers have been victims of
credit card fraud indicates that financial institutions can do more to
educate customers about preventive measures they can take to protect
themselves. Although identity fraud has received a fair amount of media
coverage, the number of Canadians who have been affected by it remains
small – standing at about two per cent,” said Sanjay Sharma, senior financial services analyst at Mintel, in a news release.
“Security and trust issues are the dominant factors in the minds of
consumers at present and override the convenience benefits of
contactless cards and mobile banking. This is likely to change in the
near future as these concerns dissipate with the introduction of
superior security features.”
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