Prairie residents not seeking fraud advice: TD survey

Nearly half of Prairie residents are not seeking information on how to protect themselves from fraud despite growing concerns about increasingly sophisticated scams, according to a new TD survey.

The survey found that 48 per cent of residents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan never seek advice or resources on fraud prevention — the highest rate in Canada — even as 86 per cent of Canadians say they are more concerned about fraud than they were five years ago.

TD Bank’s vice-president of Canadian fraud management, Tarundeep Dhot, said the gap between concern and action leaves many people vulnerable.

“That disconnect increases risk,” Dhot told the Sun. “Without actively looking for information or tools, people may be more likely to miss warning signs, respond to urgency-based tactics or engage in behaviour that makes them more vulnerable, especially as scams continue to evolve and become harder to detect.”

The survey also revealed that 30 per cent of Prairie residents would feel embarrassed to tell someone if they became victims of a scam, a stigma Dhot said often benefits fraudsters.

“If someone feels embarrassed, they may delay reporting the scam, avoid speaking to their bank or not warn others, giving fraudsters more opportunity to continue targeting people,” she said.

More than half (53 per cent) of Prairie residents said they feel vulnerable to financial fraud, highlighting what Dhot described as a shared challenge rather than an individual failure.

“The solution is normalizing conversation — treating fraud as something that can happen to anyone and encouraging open, judgment-free discussions so people feel comfortable speaking up early,” he said.

The survey also found that 67 per cent of Prairie residents worry about older family members becoming fraud victims.

Some of the most common scams affecting seniors include emergency or “grandparent” scams, impersonation scams, technical support scams and bank investigator scams, he said. These schemes often rely on creating a sense of urgency or exploiting trust in authority figures.

He said families need to watch for unexpected requests for money, passwords, PINs or one-time passcodes, as well as messages containing generic greetings, poor spelling or language, and pressure to act immediately.

“Unless you initiated the call, your bank will never ask for your PIN, one-time passcode or passwords,” Dhot said. “Your bank will also never ask for remote access to your account.”

To help protect loved ones, he said, create a unique family password that can be used to verify emergency calls claiming to come from a relative.

The survey also examined how families discuss fraud prevention. While many respondents said teaching children or older relatives about scams can be stressful, Dhot said these conversations do not need to be complicated.

He said that many discussions begin naturally after a suspicious phone call, text message or news story.

“A practical approach is to keep it simple,” he said. “Focus on one or two key habits at a time, like never sharing one-time passcodes or independently verifying urgent requests.”

Rather than treating fraud prevention as a one-time lesson, Dhot encourages families to make it an ongoing conversation and remind loved ones that anyone can become a target.

Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, Dhot said fraud is becoming increasingly difficult to detect as criminals adopt more sophisticated tactics, including those enhanced by artificial intelligence.

The survey found that 85 per cent of Prairie residents believe scams are becoming harder to identify, while nearly three in five (59 per cent) admitted engaging in risky behaviours such as using public Wi-Fi for financial transactions or clicking on links before verifying the sender.

“We’re also seeing continued reliance on impersonation and urgency-based scams, which are becoming more sophisticated,” Dhot said.

Despite assumptions that fraud risks may differ between cities and rural communities, Dhot said the threat is widespread across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“Fraud risk is widespread and increasingly complex across all communities,” she said. “It reinforces the importance of staying vigilant, regularly monitoring accounts and having open conversations about fraud prevention, regardless of location.”

» aodutola@brandonsun.com

» X: @AbiolaOdutola