Fraud rises 31% in Canada, says Equifax
First-party fraud rates across Canada climbed 31% year over year between the fourth quarter of 2024 and the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by sharp increases in the credit card and banking sectors, according to new data from Equifax Canada.
The company’s latest Market Pulse Fraud Trends and Insights report, released Wednesday, found that a growing number of Canadians are intentionally misrepresenting their own financial information to gain access to credit and banking products – a shift from traditional fraud patterns in which a third party steals or fabricates someone else’s identity. The trend was most pronounced in Ontario and Alberta and disproportionately affected younger demographics nationwide.
Carl Davies, head of fraud and identity at Equifax Canada, said the findings should put lenders on notice.
“This concerning growth in first-party fraud activity is a trend no lender can afford to ignore,” Davies said. “Traditional third-party attacks remain prevalent, but we are also seeing more cases where consumers appear to be manipulating their own information to gain access to credit or banking products.”
Banking sector sees decline in third-party schemes
In the credit card sector, first-party fraud nearly doubled, rising from 0.08% in Q4 2024 to 0.15% in Q4 2025. Contradictory or mismatched data submitted by applicants became the dominant form of fraud, accounting for 77% of first-party credit card cases by the end of 2025, up from 59% a year earlier. Ontario recorded the highest regional exposure, with fraud-related credit losses in the sector reaching as high as $123 million.
A similar pattern emerged in the banking and deposits category. While third-party fraud attempts declined from 0.45% to 0.32% over the same period, first-party fraud rose from 0.51% to 0.68%. Cases involving falsified financial information jumped from 1.5% to 21% of first-party banking fraud cases, while account abuse increased from 14% to 24%.
Not all sectors followed the same trend. Mortgage fraud fell 12.5% year over year, while auto loan fraud declined 19.4%. However, the report noted that potential losses tied to suspected fraud within delinquent portfolios remained significant. Consumers aged 26 to 45 accounted for the majority of suspected fraudulent mortgage applications, while those aged 35 and under represented the highest share of fraud-related credit losses in auto delinquency balances.
Davies said technology remains a critical line of defence.
“AI-based technology helps to detect falsified documents and identities,” he said. “As fraud tactics evolve, Equifax offers reliable AI-powered tools that can help lenders identify both third-party attacks and signs that an applicant may be misrepresenting their financial position.”
The Equifax findings arrive against the backdrop of a broader national reckoning with fraud. In 2025, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received over 112,000 fraud reports, with reported losses exceeding $704 million, bringing total reported losses since 2022 to over $2.4 billion. Authorities caution that these figures represent only 5% to 10% of actual losses.
