Canada Rallies to Stop, Check, Talk Against Scams

‘Stand Against Scams’, a national awareness campaign, has launched to educate Canadians on how to help protect themselves from scams before they start. The campaign comes at a critical time: Canadians reported losing more than $645 million to fraud in 2024 alone, and experts estimate the real total could be in the tens of billions.

‘Stand Against Scams’ is the first campaign from the Canadian Anti-Scam Coalition (CASC), an unprecedented collaboration set up to combat the growing threat of scams targeting Canadians, supported by major financial services, telecom providers, and tech organisations, law enforcement, and government. The campaign promotes a simple message: Stop.Check.Talk., created to help Canadians remember what they can do to protect themselves from increasingly sophisticated scam attempts.

“Each scam represents more than a financial loss; it is a loss of trust,” said Jennifer Quaid, member of the Canadian Anti-Scam Coalition Steering Committee and executive director of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange. “With scammer activity expected to increase during the holiday shopping season, exploiting everything from fake delivery notices to AI-generated voice clones, Stand Against Scams reminds people that taking the simple steps to Stop.Check.Talk. can make all the difference in protecting yourself and your loved ones.”

The Stand Against Scams campaign includes a national advertising effort across digital, broadcast, out-of-home, social, and community channels. Canadian sports legend and community builder Michael “Pinball” Clemons, consumer protection expert Julie Matthews, and journalist and author Michel Jean will act as spokespeople for the campaign, bringing their insights, experiences, and expertise to consumers.

“Scams can happen to anyone. No matter who you are, or how diligent you think you’ve been,” said Michael “Pinball” Clemons. “Sophisticated and organised, scammers know how to appear legitimate, appealing to our thoughts, feelings and emotions. That is why I am supporting Stand Against Scams, encouraging Canadians to Stop. Check. and Talk. in order to protect themselves before it’s too late.”

The campaign encourages Canadians to take three simple steps when asked for money or personal information:

• Stop. Always stop and think. This is your life and your money – so take a breath, take a pause and take a moment to ask yourself: Could this be a scam?
• Check. If something seems suspicious or too good to be true, check it out. Look a little harder. Ask a friend or family member for advice and guidance or check with a trusted source like your financial services provider, telecom provider, or social media platform. Don’t do anything in a hurry.
• Talk. Sharing details about scams with others helps strengthen our collective ability to fight back and stay safe. Talk with family, friends and colleagues about how you avoided a scam – and help others do the same.

Canadians can visit StandAgainstScams.ca or follow @StandAgainstScamsCa on Instagram for trusted resources, trending alerts, and links to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to report suspicious activity.

“The Stop.Check.Talk. campaign is about empowering Canadians with new habits to avoid being scammed,” added Jennifer. “By standing together, we can make scams harder to pull off, easier to spot, and quicker to stop.”

A national bilingual PR campaign by Veritas supports the launch through earned media, influencer engagement, and owned social activity.