How much have Canadians lost to fraud in 2026? $535 million reported by Sept. 30, from 15,422 victims, and most fraud is never reported.
Canadians reported losing $535 million to fraud in the first nine months of 2026. And that is only the part that got reported.
The figures come from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), which is run jointly by the RCMP, the Competition Bureau and the Ontario Provincial Police. Its home page keeps a running count called "The impact of fraud so far this year."
The numbers so far in 2026
As of September 30, 2026, the CAFC counts:
- $535 million reported lost to fraud.
- 15,422 victims.
- 22,002 fraud reports.
For all of 2025, the same counter shows $704 million lost, 27,693 victims and 40,679 reports. In March, the CAFC said reported losses since 2022 had passed $2.4 billion.
Only the tip of it
The CAFC is blunt about how incomplete these numbers are. In its March 6, 2026 release it said the losses "represent only a fraction of the harm, because only 5% to 10% of frauds are reported."
The average reported victim lost more this year
Dividing the totals gives a rough average (our math, from totals rounded to the nearest million):
- 2026 so far: $535 million across 15,422 victims is about $34,700 per reported victim.
- 2025: $704 million across 27,693 victims is about $25,400 per reported victim.
An average like this can be pulled up by a few very large losses, so most victims lose less. It is still a sign of how costly the frauds that do get reported can be.
Which frauds cost the most
According to the CAFC, the three frauds with the highest financial impact in 2025 were investment fraud, romance fraud and job fraud. The most reported types were identity fraud, investment fraud and service fraud.
If it happens to you
The CAFC says to contact your local police and report it online through the Report Cybercrime and Fraud website, even if you did not lose any money. It also warns that fraudsters pretend to be CAFC staff, and that the CAFC does not contact people to ask for money.
This is general information, not financial advice.
Sources
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, home page statistics, "The impact of fraud so far this year," as of September 30, 2026.
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Fraud Prevention Month to bring hidden crime into the spotlight, March 6, 2026.
