Written by Mesi Haileyesus, Executive Director, CCFWE
March marks Anti-Fraud Month, a time to raise awareness about one of the fastest growing threats to economic safety. Fraud and scams are no longer isolated incidents. They have become a global challenge affecting individuals, institutions, and financial systems at every level. This article reflects on the growing scale of fraud, insights from the Global Fraud Summit in Vienna organized by the International Criminal Police Organization and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the urgent need to strengthen responses that protect individuals and build safer financial systems. As financial access continues to expand, the focus must move beyond awareness toward prevention, protection, and long-term resilience, particularly for those experiencing financial abuse and economic vulnerability.
Advancing Economic Safety Through a Victim-Centred Approach to Fraud and System Change
Fraud and scams are no longer isolated financial incidents but growing forms of economic abuse that affect trust, stability, and long-term financial well-being.
For many individuals, particularly survivors of financial abuse, fraud is not a standalone experience but part of a broader pattern of control, coercion, and exploitation. Across Canada and globally, individuals navigating barriers within financial systems continue to face higher exposure and fewer protections. At the Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, global leaders came together to address the scale and complexity of this issue.
The discussions reinforced a clear message that current responses are not keeping pace and too often fail those most impacted. Experience working with survivors of economic abuse and financial exploitation shows that vulnerability is often systemic, not individual. A victim-centred approach is essential, one that recognizes individuals are often navigating layered risks including abuse, manipulation, and institutional gaps.
Effective systems must prioritize dignity, safety, and recovery. Addressing fraud requires collaboration across governments, financial institutions, technology platforms, and community organizations to build systems that protect, respond, and prevent harm.
Fraud continues to evolve, and responses must evolve with it.
Understanding the Scale and Impact Across Financial Systems
Fraud and scams are among the most urgent economic and consumer protection challenges of our time. Their impact is not equal, disproportionately affecting those facing barriers within financial systems and individuals experiencing financial abuse. Fraud must be understood not only as a financial issue, but as one of economic safety and justice. The Global Fraud Summit brought together policymakers, financial institutions, technology companies, civil society, and individuals with lived experience, highlighting the scale of the challenge. Fraud is now widespread and embedded in modern financial systems, affecting people across all regions and income levels. Beyond financial losses, the erosion of trust, independence, and stability is significant. This exposes critical gaps in prevention, detection, and response, and underscores the need for stronger, more inclusive systems.
Strengthening Coordinated Responses Across Systems
Addressing fraud requires coordinated leadership across financial institutions, technology platforms, governments, and community organizations. No single sector can respond alone. Emerging models show that collaboration and shared responsibility are essential, as fragmented systems continue to create gaps where harm occurs, especially for those facing financial abuse or systemic exclusion.
Fraud today is digital, borderless, and rapidly evolving, often outpacing traditional responses, making international coordination critical.
Law enforcement continues to highlight the complexity of cross-border cases, reinforcing the need for stronger collaboration with financial and technology sectors. While fraud affects everyone, its impact is more severe for those facing financial insecurity. It is both a universal risk and a structural issue, requiring systems that are inclusive, responsive, and grounded in real human experience.
Ensuring Safety as Financial Access Continues to Grow
Financial inclusion cannot exist without financial safety. For many survivors of gender based violence, access to financial systems without protection can increase risk rather than reduce it. Fraud and digital financial harm often intersect with coercion, control, and economic abuse. Many systems still lack safe reporting pathways, trauma-informed support, and effective protections for those experiencing harm.
As financial services move online, exposure increases, especially for those already navigating vulnerability. Underreporting remains high due to fear, stigma, and lack of trust. For many survivors, one experience of fraud can lead to long-term financial exclusion. This underscores the urgent need for systems that are safe, inclusive, and responsive to lived realities.
Advancing a Victim Centered Approach for Financial Protection
Effective responses to fraud must be grounded in how harm is experienced, especially for those facing vulnerability or financial abuse. Fraud is often linked to manipulation, coercion, and economic control, with lasting emotional and financial impacts. A victim-centred approach must go beyond prevention to include trauma-informed support, safe reporting, and recovery pathways that restore dignity and autonomy. This requires coordinated action across sectors, combining technology with human-centred systems that prioritize protection, inclusion, and long term stability.
Canada’s Leadership in Advancing Financial Safety: Driving Stronger Policy, Protection, and National Response
Canada is well positioned to lead in advancing financial safety. Across the country, collaboration between financial institutions, regulators, and community organizations is strengthening responses to fraud as part of a broader economic safety agenda.
Recent federal budget commitments, Canada’s participation in global fraud conferences, and the Anti Fraud Summit signed pledge at the United Nations reflect growing national leadership and investment in addressing fraud.
At CCFWE, we are seeing growing interest from partners to invest in addressing financial abuse. The Canadian banking sector continues to strengthen consumer protection, awareness, and prevention systems, with increasing recognition of the complexity of victim experiences.
We are also encouraged by ongoing policy engagement, including CCFWE’s participation as a subject matter expert on April 16, 2026 as part of the national study on the financial vulnerability of senior women. This reflects an important shift in Canada, where fraud is increasingly understood not only as financial crime but as an issue of safety, dignity, and inclusion. Canada has a strong opportunity to lead globally by advancing coordinated systems and ensuring no one is left behind.
Expanding Awareness and Driving Action on Emerging Forms of Fraud
Last year, the Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment led national efforts to raise awareness on romance scams, highlighting how financial exploitation is often rooted in manipulation, trust, and coercion. This work underscored the strong link between fraud and financial abuse, and its lasting impact on financial stability and recovery. Fraud and scams continue to grow as one of the most urgent economic and consumer protection challenges, disproportionately affecting women, newcomers, and underserved communities.
Global discussions, including convenings led by the International Criminal Police Organization and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, have reinforced the scale and urgency of this issue. Fraud is now widespread across financial systems, with impacts that go beyond financial loss to erode trust, independence, and economic security. These realities highlight critical gaps in prevention and response, and the need for stronger, more coordinated action moving forward.
A Call to Lead with Protection, Dignity, and System Change
Fraud is not just about financial loss. It is about safety, dignity, and trust. For many survivors of financial abuse, fraud is not a separate experience but part of a broader pattern of control, coercion, and economic harm. As financial systems continue to evolve, we must ensure that protection evolves with them. This is a defining moment for leadership.
Governments, financial institutions, and technology platforms have an opportunity and responsibility to act with urgency, coordination, and accountability. The future of financial systems must be built on safety, inclusion, and human-centred design. No one should have to choose between access and protection. Survivors deserve systems that recognize their realities, respond to their needs, and support their path to recovery and financial independence.
