Canadian Businesses Increasingly Targeted by Fraudsters

Half of Canadian small business owners have experienced fraud in the last year.

This is according to the newest report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) that has been released in collaboration with Interac.

Of those businesses who fell victim to fraud, more than one-third suffered financial misfortune, losing on average $7,800. The fallout extends beyond this to include lost time, negative emotional impact and decreased staff morale.

The report found the bigger the business, the likelier it is to be subject to fraud.

The most common types of fraud attempts include e-mail scams and phishing (85 per cent), text (77 per cent) and phone call scams (76 per cent).

Though less common, fraudulent payments and chargebacks — when a customer falsely disputes legitimate transactions — are more likely to result in business losses.

Nine in 10 business owners are worried the rise in the use of artificial intelligence will make fraud more sophisticated and harder to detect.

To combat fraud, half of businesses have implemented stricter verification processes for payments, such as multi-factor authentication for online transactions. More than one-third have increased cybersecurity investments and another one-third have enhanced employee training.