[Consultation] Government of Canada launches consultations on first ever National Anti-Fraud Strategy

News release

March 30, 2026 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Finance Canada

As fraud grows increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect—from ghost texts and mysterious links to masked voiceover calls and phony bank emails—it represents a rising threat to the financial security of all Canadians. Fraudsters target Canadians across age groups and use a variety of methods, from seniors on the phone to younger people on digital platforms. To confront these evolving tactics, the federal government is taking a decisive step toward a more secure financial landscape.

Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, formally launched consultations on Canada’s first-ever whole-of-government National Anti-Fraud Strategy, as announced on October 20, 2025 and in Budget 2025.

The Strategy aims to establish a robust, multi-sector approach to combatting fraud throughout its entire lifecycle—from averting fraudsters’ initial contact with victims, to preventing fraudulent transactions, to mitigating harms to fraud victims.

The development of the Strategy is led by the Department of Finance Canada, in collaboration with 11 other departments and agencies, and will build upon existing industry-led initiatives to combat fraud and scams, such as the Canadian Anti-Scam Coalition.

The consultations seek feedback on three initial measures for the Strategy: supporting law enforcement’s ability to combat fraud; strengthening public awareness; and establishing a comprehensive Multi-Sector Anti-Fraud Framework. This framework would introduce new and enhanced obligations for federally regulated financial institutions, telecommunications service providers, and digital platforms. As part of the Framework, in addition to general prevention requirements, organizations could be required to take fraud prevention measures specific to their industry, for example:

• Providing specific warnings about the risk of fraud when individuals initiate large-scale transfer payments (e.g., wire transfers, international money transfers).
• Blocking or flagging calls “spoofing” legitimate enterprises, government institutions, and law enforcement.
• Implementing screening for fraudulent profiles and pages, and blocking malicious ads.

All interested Canadians and stakeholders are invited to review the consultation notice and paper and to email their comments by April 28, 2026, to consumer.consommateur@fin.gc.ca.