Credit Card Application Fraud Climbs as Identity Thieves Disproportionately Target Canadians Aged 56 to 65
Key Highlights
- ➤Credit card application fraud rose 8% year-over-year to 0.91% in Q2 2026
- ➤Overall consumer application fraud increased 5% year-over-year to 0.66% in Q2
- ➤Consumer debt reached $2.68 trillion, up 4.18% year-over-year in Q2 2026
- ➤Severe credit card delinquency climbed 6.8% to 4.2% in Q2
- ➤Canadians aged 56 to 65 were most frequently targeted by identity thieves
Expert Statements
Carl Davies, Head of Fraud and Identity at Equifax Canada
“While these percentage number increases may look small, the impact and dollar value could have a major impact on Canadians”
Carl Davies, Head of Fraud and Identity at Equifax Canada
“Credit card application fraud is increasingly being driven by identity theft, and fraudsters focusing their efforts on Canadians aged 56 to 65 deserves attention”
Carl Davies, Head of Fraud and Identity at Equifax Canada
“Fraudsters are looking for opportunities to use legitimate personal information to open new accounts, which makes it important for consumers of all ages, but especially the 56 to 65 age group, to monitor their credit reports regularly and act quickly when they see any activity they do not recognize.”
Carl Davies, Head of Fraud and Identity at Equifax Canada
“The fraud picture is not moving in one specific direction”
Carl Davies, Head of Fraud and Identity at Equifax Canada
“With credit cards, identity theft is the biggest concern. In auto lending, it is applicants misrepresenting their own circumstances. Understanding the differences in what type of fraud is occurring is important because the methods used to detect and prevent fraud also need to be different.”
Carl Davies, Head of Fraud and Identity at Equifax Canada
“The shift in fraud rates really shows a growing split between different types of fraud. The increase in fraud for everyday banking products such as credit cards and banking/deposits may indicate broader household stress. While the declines in auto, mortgage, and telecommunications fraud are in part due to population contraction and sluggish credit demand”
Carl Davies, Head of Fraud and Identity at Equifax Canada
“Canadians lost an estimated $645M to fraud last year. It’s a problem we are committed to continuing to fight, evidenced by the estimated $3B in fraud losses we help prevent annually. We want to do everything we can to help better protect Canadians from any type of fraud”
TORONTO, Sept. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Credit card application fraud climbed eight per cent year-over-year in Q2 2026, bucking the trend of declines across auto, mortgage and telecommunications applications, according to Equifax Canada’s latest Market Pulse Fraud Trends and Insights.
The overall credit card application fraud rate, defined as the proportion of fraudulent credit card applications relative to the total credit card applications, rose by eight per cent compared to one year ago, reaching 0.91 per cent in Q2 2026, driven primarily by third-party identity theft.
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