First-Party Fraud Surges in Canada, Costing Lenders Hundreds of Millions
DF
Drew Fairfax
mortgage application volume · Apr 17, 2026
Source: DojiDoji Data Terminal
Credit card fraud losses in Ontario reached $123 million in 2025, driven by a surge in first-party fraud. This type of fraud, where applicants misrepresent their own financial information, nearly doubled in the credit card sector, rising from 0.08% to 0.15% between Q4 2024 and Q4 2025. Contradictory or mismatched data submitted by applicants now accounts for 77% of first-party credit card fraud cases, up from 59% the previous year.
The banking sector also saw a significant increase in first-party fraud, which rose from 0.51% to 0.68% over the same period. Falsified financial information now makes up 21% of first-party banking fraud cases, while account abuse increased from 14% to 24%. These figures highlight a shift in fraud patterns, with more Canadians manipulating their own data to gain access to financial products.
Consumers aged 35 and under represented the highest share of fraud-related credit losses in auto delinquency balances. Meanwhile, total reported fraud losses in Canada in 2025 exceeded $704 million, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
mortgage application volume
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