Bank fraud victims are receiving strong public support for greater protection from financial institutions, with 87 per cent of Canadians saying banks should reimburse customers who lose money unless the customer was grossly negligent.
The finding comes from a Léger web survey commissioned by Option consommateurs and released in Montreal on October 13, 2026.
The survey was conducted from October 2 to October 5 among 1,519 Canadians aged 18 and older who could respond in English or French.
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What Canadians want on bank fraud
The survey found that 85 per cent of respondents considered it unfair to hold a fraud victim entirely responsible when a scammer used sophisticated techniques to deceive them.
Option consommateurs said the results point to broad support for making financial institutions more accountable when fraud occurs.
“Many fraud victims who contact us have been trapped by sophisticated and credible scams, not negligence,” the organization said in its release.
The consumer group also reported that 87 per cent of respondents believed governments should make the fight against bank fraud a priority.
Support extended beyond banks.
Some 89 per cent of Canadians surveyed said digital platforms that carry fraudulent advertisements should be required to reimburse victims of scams promoted through those advertisements.
Canada does not yet have blanket reimbursement rules
The survey reflects public opinion rather than a new legal entitlement.
Canada’s current framework does not automatically require a bank to reimburse every customer who authorizes a payment after being deceived.
Responsibility can depend on the type of transaction, the security measures used, the customer’s conduct and the bank’s investigation of the complaint.
Consumers may have different protections for unauthorized credit or debit transactions than for payments they personally approved after being manipulated by a scammer.
That distinction has become more important as fraud schemes increasingly use impersonation, fake bank-investigator calls, investment pitches, phishing messages and artificial intelligence-generated audio or video.
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada said 46 per cent of respondents to its 2024 Canadian Financial Capability Survey reported being victims of investment fraud, unauthorized card use or phishing, compared with 22 per cent in 2019.
In that survey, 36 per cent reported unauthorized use of bank or credit card numbers, while 13 per cent reported phishing.
New bank fraud measures are being developed
The federal government has already moved to strengthen bank fraud controls, although several details still depend on regulations.
Changes to the Bank Act that came into force in March 2026 require banks to maintain policies and procedures to detect and prevent consumer-targeted fraud and reduce its effects on customers.
The legislation also requires banks to obtain express consent before activating certain account capabilities, allow customers to disable prescribed capabilities, let customers adjust withdrawal and transaction limits, and report prescribed fraud data to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.
In June, the Department of Finance pre-published proposed regulations that would set out more detailed requirements for those protections.
The proposed rules would address issues such as consent for electronic funds transfer capabilities, including wire transfers, customer requests to change transaction limits, and the information banks would have to collect and report about fraud cases.
The government said the measures form part of the first phase of a broader National Anti-Fraud Strategy.
However, the proposed framework is not the same as a general rule requiring banks to repay every customer who loses money to a scam.
Why the reimbursement debate matters
Consumer advocates argue that banks are often better positioned than individual customers to identify unusual transactions, delay suspicious transfers and improve warnings before money leaves an account.
Banks, meanwhile, face a difficult line between stopping scams and respecting customers’ control over their own accounts.
A reimbursement system would also have to define when a customer had been grossly negligent, how quickly a loss must be reported and how responsibility should be shared between financial institutions, telecommunications companies and online platforms.
Those questions become more complicated when a customer is persuaded to approve a transfer after speaking with someone impersonating a bank employee or government official.
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada reported that Canadians lost more than $704 million to fraud in 2025 based on reports received by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, while noting that most fraud incidents are never reported.
The agency has also said fraud was among the most common reasons Canadians contacted its consumer information service in the 2025–2026 fiscal year.
What fraud victims should do now
Anyone who suspects bank fraud should contact the financial institution immediately through a trusted phone number or secure banking channel.
Victims should ask the bank to secure the account, investigate the transaction and explain the complaint process in writing.
They should also change affected passwords, preserve text messages and other evidence, report the incident to local police when appropriate and submit a report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Customers who are dissatisfied with a bank’s response can use the institution’s internal complaint-handling process and escalate the matter through the applicable external complaints body.
The new survey is likely to add pressure for Ottawa to clarify how banks should respond when customers are deceived into authorizing payments.
For now, the federal government’s next major step is the publication of final regulations and further development of the National Anti-Fraud Strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Canadian banks have to reimburse every bank fraud victim?
No. Canada does not currently have a blanket rule requiring banks to reimburse every customer who loses money to a scam, especially when the customer authorized the transaction after being deceived.
What did the new Canadian bank fraud survey find?
The Léger survey found that 87 per cent of Canadians believe banks should reimburse fraud victims unless the customer was grossly negligent, and 85 per cent consider full responsibility unfair when sophisticated deception was used.
What new bank fraud protections has Ottawa introduced?
Bank Act changes require banks to maintain fraud-prevention procedures, obtain consent for certain account capabilities, allow customers to adjust some limits and report prescribed fraud data to FCAC.
What should someone do after discovering bank fraud?
Contact the bank immediately through a trusted channel, secure the account, preserve evidence, report the incident to police when appropriate and notify the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Will the proposed regulations guarantee fraud refunds?
Not necessarily. The proposed regulations would provide more detailed fraud-prevention and reporting requirements, but they do not create a universal reimbursement guarantee for every type of bank fraud.
Fact-Checked: Key survey findings and federal fraud-protection measures were checked against the October 13, 2026 Option consommateurs release, Finance Canada materials and Financial Consumer Agency of Canada information.
Disclaimer: Bank fraud disputes are assessed according to the transaction, the evidence and the applicable complaint and consumer-protection rules.