Businesses at a greater risk of payment fraud

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Canadian businesses face a higher rate of payment fraud compared to the average consumer, but most remain confident in their ability to protect themselves.

Twenty per cent of Canadian businesses dealt with payment fraud in the past six months, with 15 per cent of businesses losing money to the scam, according to a new survey by Payments Canada.

“Businesses face the challenge of ever-evolving and increasingly sophisticated payment fraud and cybercrime threats,” Jon Purther, director of research at Payments Canada, said in a news release.

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“Our study reinforces there is no room for complacency around measures to protect against and detect fraud risks for Canadian businesses regardless of size and industry, and that businesses are willing to take extra steps to make an online transaction if it meant they were better protected.”

A prior survey on consumers said 13 per cent of them had dealt with payment fraud, with 59 per cent of those affected losing money.

A quarter of the companies affected said they dealt with impersonator fraud — when a caller or emailer appears to be a trusted person or entity — while 22 per cent faced intercepted e-transfers and 20 per cent experienced credit card fraud.

“Addressing fraud risks is a central focus for the payment ecosystem,” Donna Kinoshita, chief payments officer at Payments Canada, said in a news release. “It requires a multifaceted approach that leverages technology, system innovations, evolving regulations and education through continued industry collaboration.”

Despite the prevalence of fraud, most businesses feel protected by their bank, with 65 per cent of victims saying they were fully or partially reimbursed, and 57 per cent of those companies were satisfied with the outcome.

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Canadians lost $284 million to fraud this year as of June 30, across nearly 16,000 reported incidents, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

The centre recommends people do their own research before sending money to someone over the phone and to avoid giving out personal information to an unsolicited caller.

Payments Canada said 69 per cent of businesses are taking steps to protect themselves, including limiting the amount of sensitive information they share, checking the safety of e-commerce sites and enabling two-factor authentication.

Kinoshita said embracing technology can help businesses protect themselves.

“Looking to the future, biometrics, multi-factor authentication, confirmation of payee systems, AI learning for fraud detection, centralized fraud systems, in addition to enhanced reporting and data sharing, are just some of the cross-industry innovations and initiatives that will play a role in helping protect Canadian businesses and consumers,” she said.

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Brent futures fell below US$70 per barrel for the first time since late 2021, as a glut of supply and waning demand hurt oil prices.

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Recent economic data in the U.S. and China — the world’s two largest crude consumers — fell below expectations, leading experts to speculate that demand in both countries could be on the way down.

This comes after the OPEC+ postponed a plan to up its crude production next month by 180,000 barrels a day.

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Today’s Posthaste was written by Ben Cousins, with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg.

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