3/4 Canadians worried about payment card skimming

Fraud figures released by Interac Association show that Interac Debit losses due to skimming have declined, reaching a record low of just USD 11.4 million. The total number of debit cards reimbursed for fraud in 2016 was also down to a record low of just 19,000, a 23% drop from 2015 and down more than 90% from the 238,000 cards reimbursed in 2009.

In 2019, fraud losses totalled more than USD140 million. Usage of the service has grown by 72% since 2009.

However, despite these low fraud numbers, a recent survey for Interac Association/Acxsys Corporation (Interac) found Canadians increasingly concerned about fraudulent activities such as skimming and electronic pickpocketing. For example, 75% of debit cardholders said they were concerned about skimming, up from the 49% of cardholders who expressed similar concerns in 2015, while 71% were concerned about electronic pickpocketing, up from 40% the year before.