Conservatives promise to crack down on scammers who target seniors

MONTREAL — Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre says he will crack down on senior scams, promising stricter sentences for convicted fraudsters and fines of up to $5 million for companies that don’t implement sufficient scam prevention. In a campaign stop in Montreal, Poilievre said a Conservative government would pass the “Stop Scamming Seniors Act” that would impose a host of new fraud reporting and detection obligations for financial institutions and telecommunications companies. The act aims to address the growing threat and sophistication of phone and digital scams particularly targeting seniors. He cited the well-known “grandparent” scam where fraudsters call seniors purporting to be their grandchild who is in need and asking them to urgently wire them money.

“Under my government, we are going to stop these fraudsters. Period.” —Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaking with reporters in Montreal as he announces his plan to protect seniors from financial scams. #cdnpoli #elxn2025 pic.twitter.com/NVYGgVP6TX— CPAC (@CPAC_TV) April 15, 2025

Federal authorities have also recently warned of the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in these scams. For example, some fraudsters go as far as using AI technology to replicate a victim’s family member’s voice to convince them into transferring them funds. Poilievre said Tuesday that the legislation would compel banks and telecom companies to “deploy state-of-the-art technology to catch scams and stuff before they happen, not after when it is too late.” He said the act would require “mandatory scam detection systems” and real-time flagging and blocking of “suspicious activity” for financial institutions and telcos. He also promised to impose a mandatory minimum one-year jail sentence for fraud over $5,000, which would increase to five years for frauds over $1 million. His government would ensure fraudsters are fined 10 times the amount defrauded. That would also come with a new Criminal Code offence of “willful blind profiteering from fraud” which he said would target executives of organizations who ignore red flags and “knowingly allow” scams to happen. More to come… National Post cnardi@postmedia.com

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