Canada will launch a new federal financial-crimes agency and change banking laws to clamp down on online fraud and other scams, the country’s Department of Finance announced on Monday.
The effort, which also includes the pending publication of the country’s first-ever National Fraud Strategy and the creation of a voluntary code of conduct for financial firms and other businesses, comes in response to the increasing threat of sophisticated fraud schemes linked to ghost texts, masked voiceover calls, and fake bank emails, the department said.
The new financial-crime agency, which is expected to launch in the first half of 2026, will bring together experts “to investigate crimes such as money laundering, and online fraud and financial scams, and recover criminals’ illicit proceeds,” according to a departmental statement.
Separately, the government will amend the Bank Act to add new requirements for lenders to detect and prevent fraud, including requiring depository institutions to obtain the “express consent” of customers before enabling certain money-transfer functions on accounts and allowing accountholders to set transaction limits on their accounts.
Canadian officials will work with banks and other stakeholders to develop a voluntary “Code of Conduct for the Prevention of Economic Abuse” centered on victims and survivors of scams.
“Banks are uniquely positioned for a code as they offer essential financial services and interact directly with customers across all demographics,” the department said in a statement. “They are often the first to observe indicators of financial distress or coercion.”
Canadians lost C$643 million (US$458 million) to fraud last year, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, which estimates that reported figures represent only 5% to 10% of actual losses because many victims do not come forward.
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