The Government of Canada has announced plans to form the country’s first-ever financial crimes agency in an effort to combat online scams.
Announced as part of a broader “Anti-Fraud Strategy,” the government says this agency will “bring together the required expertise to investigate crimes such as money laundering, and online fraud and financial scams, and recover criminals’ illicit proceeds.” The government intends to debut this agency in the first half of 2026, with more information to come alongside the release of Budget 2025 on November 4.
For now, though, the Carney Liberals outlined some of the reasons behind the need for such actions. For one, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) reported that in 2024 alone, Canadians had an estimated $643 million stolen due to fraud, representing a nearly 300 per cent increase since 2020. On top of that, the CAFC estimates that this figure actually only accounts for five to ten per cent of total fraud losses in Canada because many victims often don’t report incidents.
You deserve to know that your hard-earned money is secure.
We’re tackling fraud and financial crimes head-on — to protect your savings, your retirement, and your loved ones. pic.twitter.com/FxYvnRHdE3
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) October 20, 2025
Additionally, the government says it will also make changes to banking laws to further clamp down on online scams. As the government notes, Canada’s only legislative requirements surrounding banks are a limit of consumer liability for unauthorized credit card transactions at $50 and the Canadian Code of Practice for Consumer Debit Card Services’ ruling that consumers aren’t liable for losses in circumstances beyond their control, like the unauthorized use of their card.
Therefore, the Anti-Fraud Strategy proposes:
- New policies and procedures to detect and prevent fraud
- A requirement to obtain the express consent of personal deposit account holders before enabling account capabilities that are vulnerable to fraudsters
- Allow personal deposit account holders to adjust transaction limits
- Data on financial fraud to be collected and reported to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
We’ll learn more about the whole Anti-Fraud Strategy, including the financial crimes agency, on November 4.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: Department of Finance Canada
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