Leveraging our robust, multi-dimensional Financial Health and Resilience Index
November 2026
Authors: Eloise Duncan, CEO and Founder, Financial Resilience Institute
Over the past decade, digitalization has fuelled cyber-enabled financial fraud and scams, turning them into a global concern. Over the past decade, cyber events in the financial sector accounted for about 10% of total global cyber events and have grown tenfold, whereas reported cases of cyber-enabled fraud (also referred to as online scams and digital fraud) have nearly tripled. These trends are likely underestimated, as under-reporting can be significant and reporting systems can be rudimentary.
While digital finance has expanded access, innovation and efficiency, it has also increased the speed, scale and sophistication of financial fraud and scams: a growing problem in Canada and globally. We are also seeing a growth in authorized fraud, as well as unauthorized fraud. Evidence shows that approximately 50% to 70% of adults globally have experienced some form of online scam or fraud attempt, with this impacting people across all household income groups, and financial fraud is a growing problem.
This October, Financial Resilience Institute is proud to launch our 20th national longitudinal Financial Well-Being Study in Canada, advancing evidence to help strengthen household financial resilience and financial well-being and track the impact of fraud and scams.
For the first time, we will measure the incidence of financial fraud and scams experienced by households in the past year, including attempted financial fraud and scams. We will be the first organization in the world to measure the impact of financial fraud and scams on household financial vulnerability, leveraging our Financial Health and Resilience Index. We will also track the impacts for more financially vulnerable households, impacts on financial stress and types of financial scams experienced, for Canadians overall and tier-one bank customers. Robust tracking and Index analytics will help policymakers, regulators and financial institutions tackle this growing threat to household and MSME resilience, with wider implications for financial stability.
This work aligns with the Aspen Institute’s Financial Security Program’s National Strategy to Prevent Scams, developed with over 80 institutions, and the Bangkok Blueprint for Fraud-Resilient Financial Services, released by the IMF and World Bank Group in October 2026. Both emphasize coordinated action across sectors to prevent fraud and scams, protect consumers and strengthen confidence in financial services.
As digital ecosystems become more interconnected, financial fraud poses growing risks to consumer confidence, households’ financial health and resilience, and potentially financial stability. Protecting people’s money, data and identities is essential to sustaining the gains in access and innovation enabled by digital finance. Addressing this challenge requires significant co-operation and continuous innovation across institutions, sectors and borders. Financial Resilience Institute is committed to contributing robust measurement and evidence on financial fraud and scams and their knock-on impacts on household financial vulnerability, while partnering with organizations to help reduce the negative impacts on people and businesses in Canada and around the world.
This background note draws insights and findings from:
IMF and World Bank Group. 2026. “The Bangkok Blueprint for Fraud-Resilient Financial Services.” https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/10/14/pr26336-imf-and-wbg-release-bangkok-blueprint-to-combat-cyber-enabled-fraud-in-digital-finance
Bank of Thailand and Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research. 2026. “The Bangkok Blueprint in Action. Regional Experiences and Policy Lessons for Fraud-Resilient Financial Services.” https://scamprevention.aspeninstitute.org/nationalstrategy