MoneyFlex

By Alicia Tyler on March 28, 2025
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

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Equifax

By Alicia Tyler on March 28, 2025
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Gen Z isn’t immune to phishing scams. Find out the most common schemes targeting young Canadians and 7 ways to avoid them.

Young Canadians aged 18 to 34 report that, despite being raised in the digital era—where smartphones were toys before they could even talk—they are now the target of online fraudsters. And, nearly one-third of have taken the bait.

With 41% of scams happening on dating and social apps, why are social-media-savvy Canadians falling victim to them? We’re looking at the top six phishing scams aimed at young Canadians and sharing expert advice from cybersecurity experts on how not to fall for them.

Those stats above come from a new TD survey. It reports that phishing scams are not just targeting older generations. Young people—who spend most of their waking hours online—are being scammed, and it’s happening via email and text messages (74%), phone calls (64%), social media (43%), online ads (29%), job or service applications (25%), and online dating apps (10%).

Those numbers are likely to grow. A TransUnion study shows that digital fraud is on the rise. Suspected online fraud attempts were up nearly 39% in 2023, the third-highest increase among 19 countries. (And that’s just the cases that were reported!)

I spoke with cybersecurity expert Laura Payne, chief enablement officer and vice president of security consulting at cyber security firm White Tuque. I asked about the top scams of the moment that home in on those new to the workforce, online shoppers and daters—three of the top six phishing scams making their rounds across Canada.

Eager-to-please young workers may be easy prey. These scams often involve fake emails from authority figures, like a boss, requesting actions or favours, such as buying gift cards as a “surprise” for company employees. Due to a lack of experience and understanding of expectations, junior staffers may be inclined to comply, leading to unintended consequences like........

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