Canada NewsWire
TORONTO, Feb. 29, 2024
Take steps to keep yourself safe with the latest tips to prevent fraud, including How to Protect Yourself Online
TORONTO, Feb. 29, 2024 /CNW/ - As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) increases, fraudsters are using it more and more in their scams, and Canadians are taking notice. According to RBC's annual Fraud Prevention Month Poll, 75% of respondents are more concerned about fraud than ever before. Nine in ten Canadians also believe the use of AI will increase scam attempts over the next year (88%) and could make everyone more vulnerable to fraud (89%).
Awareness is the first step in combating AI-related scams
According to the poll, four in five Canadians believe that AI will make fraud attempts by phone harder to detect (81%) and are concerned about voice cloning and impersonation scams (81%).
"With the recent rise in voice cloning and deepfakes, fraudsters are able to employ a new level of sophistication to phone and online scams," says Kevin Purkiss, vice president, Fraud Management, RBC. "The good news is that awareness of these types of scams is high, but we also need to take action to safeguard ourselves from fraudsters."
The research also found that phishing (generic scams through email or text), spear phishing (emails or texts that look legitimate) and vishing (targeted phone or voicemail scams) continue to rank in the top three types of fraud. More than half also say they have seen an increase in deepfake scams (56%), and almost half (47%) say voice cloning scams are on the rise.
Trends in social engineering, social media targeting and fraud spotting
"As criminals continue to evolve their scams with new technology, your first defence is to remain vigilant and take additional steps to protect yourself," adds Purkiss.
RBC recommends three tips to stay ahead of fraudsters
To learn more about the measures RBC takes to prevent fraud and how you can report it, please visit How RBC Keeps You Safe from Fraud.
2024 RBC Fraud Prevention Month Poll
RESPONSE | CAN | BC | AB | SK / | ON | QC | AC |
"Agree" | |||||||
I'm more concerned about fraud than | 75 % | 74 % | 80 % | 74 % | 76 % | 69 % | 84 % |
Scams will increase this year with the | 88 % | 87 % | 90 % | 90 % | 89 % | 85 % | 87 % |
Artificial intelligence (AI) will make | 89 % | 88 % | 92 % | 92 % | 89 % | 89 % | 89 % |
Artificial intelligence (AI) will make fraud | 81 % | 82 % | 83 % | 83 % | 82 % | 77 % | 78 % |
I am concerned about voice cloning and | 81 % | 81 % | 81 % | 78 % | 81 % | 81 % | 85 % |
I am being targeted by fraudsters more | 53 % | 49 % | 55 % | 56 % | 53 % | 49 % | 61 % |
I feel confident that I can recognize a | 64 % | 68 % | 68 % | 69 % | 66 % | 51 % | 68 % |
I have recently taken added steps to | 28 % | 29 % | 32 % | 28 % | 31 % | 22 % | 30 % |
"Types of fraud that have increased over the last year" | |||||||
Phishing | 79 % | 78 % | 82 % | 77 % | 79 % | 77 % | 79 % |
Spear Phishing | 79 % | 74 % | 83 % | 74 % | 82 % | 75 % | 85 % |
Vishing | 69 % | 73 % | 77 % | 63 % | 70 % | 61 % | 75 % |
Deepfake Scams | 56 % | 57 % | 59 % | 47 % | 58 % | 51 % | 70 % |
Social Engineering Scams | 57 % | 57 % | 61 % | 56 % | 56 % | 57 % | 66 % |
Voice Cloning Scams | 47 % | 48 % | 49 % | 41 % | 45 % | 48 % | 52 % |
"Concerned" | |||||||
I am concerned about social | 76 % | 78 % | 79 % | 72 % | 77 % | 71 % | 84 % |
I am concerned social engineering | 82 % | 86 % | 86 % | 84 % | 86 % | 71 % | 83 % |
Fraud dictionary
These are the findings of a survey commissioned by RBC that was conducted from January 15 to January 19, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of n=1,502 Canadian adults (18+), balanced and weighted on age, gender, region and education. All respondents were members of the online Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a sample of this size would yield a margin of error of ± 2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The survey was offered in both English and French.
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SOURCE RBC Royal Bank
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