Fraud alert

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   By Guest Blogger Ryan Lewenza

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It’s been a challenging few months. I recently came down with a bad case of shingles, which I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. In Danish, the rough English translation is “devil’s fire,” and I can’t think of a better description. For anyone over 50, I would strongly recommend getting the shingles vaccine because trust me, you do not want this.

Then, as if that weren’t enough, I discovered I had become the victim of credit card fraud. By the time I finally realized what was happening, the fraudsters had racked up more than $12,000 in charges on my account.

So today, I’m going to share my fraud experience (I’ll spare you the details of my shingles) in the hope that you can learn from my mistakes. The details are not particularly flattering, but they are necessary to drive home the point.

The fraud began more than five months ago while I was in Montreal for my son’s hockey tournament. I used my credit card at several places, and somewhere along the way someone got hold of my credit card number. That’s where this all started.

At first, the charges were small and easy to overlook. There were a handful of Shell EasyPay transactions and a few other purchases, generally under $100 each. Nothing that immediately stood out. After a few months, the fraudsters apparently realized I wasn’t paying attention and they went to work.

The frequency of the charges increased, and so did the amounts. In addition to the gasoline charges, they signed up for recurring payments, including a cell phone plan. During the first few months, the fraudulent charges totalled roughly $500 per month. Eventually, they became far more aggressive, with the monthly amount rising to $3,000 to $4,000.

This is where the shingles enters the story. I was quite sick and focused primarily on getting through each day. Reviewing my monthly statements was the furthest thing from my mind. As I gradually recovered and got back on my feet, I finally noticed some of the charges and the light bulb went on.

I immediately called the bank to report the fraud, and that’s when I started digging through previous statements. The more I looked, the worse it got. It felt like a ton of bricks hitting me as I realized the extent of the problem.

Working with the fraud department, we identified the unauthorized transactions, and the bank launched an investigation. Then I did what any analyst would do. I spent the next several hours going line by line through old statements and building a spreadsheet of every suspicious charge. When I finally added everything up, the total came to just over $12,000. I was dumbstruck.
How could I have missed this? Why did it take me so long to uncover what was happening? Why wasn’t I reviewing my statements more carefully each month?

After the bank completed its investigation, I received the final verdict. They agreed to reimburse a little over $8,000, but that still left me roughly $4,000 out of pocket. Their reasoning was that some of the fraudulent charges dated back too far and fell outside the timeframe covered under the cardholder agreement. Despite my protests, those earlier charges were deemed my responsibility.

It was an expensive lesson. The good news is that I’ll survive a $4,000 mistake. The bad news is that it was entirely avoidable.

Unfortunately, this trend continues to worsen. Last year, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) received more than 112,000 fraud reports, representing over $704 million in reported losses, more than four times the amount reported in 2020. Even more concerning, the CAFC estimates that only 5% to 10% of fraud incidents are ever reported, suggesting the true economic cost of fraud is likely several multiples higher than the headline figure of $704 million.

Reported fraud losses have quadrupled from 2020

Source: CAFC annual reporting and 2025 fraud statistics

So, what can we do to better protect ourselves from increasingly sophisticated fraudsters?
First, and stating the obvious, review your credit card statements regularly and with a fine-tooth comb. Banks will typically reimburse cardholders for fraudulent charges, but there are limits. In my case, the bank only covered losses going back a few months, leaving me responsible for charges that had gone undetected for longer.

Second, take advantage of the real-time transaction alerts and mobile apps that banks now offer. Unfortunately, I only learned about these tools after becoming a victim myself. Since then, I’ve downloaded the app and enabled notifications for every transaction. If fraud happens again, I’ll be able to spot it almost immediately, and avoid the losses I experienced this time around.

Third, never provide personal or financial information to someone who calls you claiming to be from your bank. This is one of the newer tactics fraudsters are using. They’ll call and say there has been suspicious activity on your account, and they often have enough personal information about you to sound legitimate. They may know your address, postal code, or other details that make them appear credible.

This recently happened to me. The caller claimed to be from my bank and started asking questions. When I pushed back, he told me to look at the number on my phone and Google it to prove he was calling from the bank. Fortunately, I recognized the scam and told him I would hang up and call the bank directly. He immediately ended the call. I suspect he simply moved on to look for a more vulnerable target.

The bottom line is this: if you receive an unsolicited phone call, email, or text message claiming to be from your bank, don’t engage. Never click on links, never provide personal information, and never let yourself be pressured into acting quickly. Hang up and contact your bank directly using the number on the back of your card.

And if you’re feeling particularly annoyed, you can always tell the fraudster exactly what you think of them before hanging up.

Finally, create strong passwords for each of your accounts and setup multi-factor authentication to make it more difficult for someone else to access your accounts.

One of the key aims of Garth’s blog is to help improve the financial literacy of Canadians by informing and educating readers so they can make better, more informed financial decisions. In keeping with that mission, today’s blog highlighted the alarming growth of fraud in Canada and provided practical tips to help reduce the risk of becoming a victim. So, let’s stay vigilant, follow these important steps and safeguards, and fight back against these fraudsters.

Ryan Lewenza, CFA, CMT is a Partner and Portfolio Manager with Turner Investments, and a Senior Investment Advisor, Private Client Group, of Raymond James Ltd.

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About the picture: “This is Chewie, short for Chewbaca,” writes Jane. “He is a mix of Yorkshire Terrier and who knows what else. We rescued him from the humane society when he was two and he is now twelve.”

To be in tuch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘[email protected]’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/10/03/fraud-alert/