Safety and security
Get tips to protect yourself against fraud, identity theft and scams. Find information and resources to keep you safe.
Protect yourself and your money
It can be easy for others to take advantage of seniors. They are often targeted by dishonest salespeople or businesses. It’s important to spot the warning signs and ask the right questions.
Consumer Protection Ontario can help you:
- check if a business has had serious complaints or charges filed against them
- learn how to protect yourself against scams, phishing and identity theft
- learn what to do if you’re a victim of a scam or fraud
- help you to understand your rights under the Consumer Protection Act
Consumer Protection Ontario helps you make smart choices, spend wisely and protect yourself and your money.
Know your rights when shopping online or over the phone.
Door-to-door sales
Some door-to-door sales at your home are not allowed. Salespeople cannot come to your door uninvited to sell you restricted products like:
- air conditioners
- air purifiers
- furnaces
- hot water heaters
- water filtration systems
- other products
To buy one of these items, you need to initiate the service. Call or email the business and ask them to come to your home.
Businesses can enter into a contract at your home if you:
- contacted them ahead of time
- invited them to your home for the purpose of buying or leasing one of the restricted products and services
Find out about your rights and how to avoid scams with door-to-door sales.
Home renovations and projects
Sometimes, seniors are targeted by dishonest home renovations, insulation and driveway paving companies. Always do your homework. Before you hire a contractor, ask for 3 references and check them.
Get consumer protection information on homes and renovations.
Condominium costs and restrictions
If you are thinking of moving into a condo, it’s important to know the condo fees, by-laws, rules and restrictions before you buy. These can be quite different from building to building.
Learn more about owning a condo.
Protect yourself when you plan your move
Before you hire a moving company, ask the right questions:
- Can you provide references?
- Can you give me a written estimate?
- Who is responsible for loss or damage?
- Are you covered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in case of injury?
Be sure to get the answers you need before you sign a contract.
Learn about hiring a mover.
Scams, fraud and identity theft
In 2022, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) received fraud reports totaling $530 million in victim losses. Approximately 26% were reported by seniors who lost an average of 33% more than other age groups. According to the CAFC, in 2022, the top frauds affecting seniors in Ontario were:
- Investment frauds (more than $36.5 million in reported losses)
- Romance frauds (more than $8.8 million in reported losses)
- Service scams (more than $6 million in reported losses)
- Emergency-grandparent (more than $4.3 million in reported losses)
- Extortion frauds (more than $542,000 in reported losses)
If you think you’ve been the victim of cybercrime or fraud, report it to your local police and to the CAFC’s online reporting system or by phone at
Telemarketing scams
Phony telemarketers have many different scams. Common scams targeting seniors include the fake vacation scam and the grandparent scam.
Fake vacation scam
In this type of scam, someone calls and says you have won a vacation. To claim your prize, you have to pay a processing fee. Or they may tell you that you have to enter into a timeshare agreement.
If you have not asked for information or entered a contest, be very careful. The caller either:
- is trying to get your personal banking information
- will keep the processing fee and will not give you the vacation
Grandparent or emergency scam
In this type of scam, you receive a call from a person pretending to be your grandchild, old neighbour or friend. Here’s how it works:
- the caller claims to be in trouble and needs money right away. They usually ask for money to be:
- sent by mail
- ready to be picked up from the victim’s residence
- the scammers may say they are in the hospital, stuck in a foreign airport or in jail
- a second caller may come on the phone pretending to be a police officer or lawyer
- the caller often asks you to not tell anyone in the family about the call
- they may even tell you there is a gag order
Here are some tips to protect yourself:
- Never send money without independently confirming the emergency and the location of your grandchild, neighbour or friend.
- Be wary of fake caller IDs, also known as spoofing. Try calling the phone number you have in your contact list for your loved one. Never use a number provided to you by the caller.
- Remember that the scammer may try to disguise their voice by faking a bad phone connection.
- Ask the caller about personal details your grandchild would know (like their middle name).
- Don’t share any personal information before you confirm that you are truly talking to your loved one.
- Don’t send any money! Contact your local police department or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
Phishing (email and text scams)
Phishing takes place when someone sends you an email or text claiming to be a legitimate company or organization. They try to lure you into sharing your personal information, including:
- credit card details
- banking information
- social insurance number
- passwords
- usernames
Phishers often send messages with exciting or upsetting news and tell you to act right away. Visiting the links or downloading attachments in these emails or texts puts your personal data at risk.
These scam messages direct you to fake websites that appear to be a trusted organization like a bank or the government. The websites ask you to provide your personal data. Criminals use this information to access your accounts. You can lose money and have your identity stolen.
Tips to protect yourself:
- never give out banking information, passwords or other personal information in response to an email or text message
- watch out for fake email address, also known as spoofing: hover your mouse over the sender’s email address without clicking to show the real one being used
- don’t click on any links or download attachments in emails or text messages
- contact the company or organization directly to ask if they sent you the email or text message
Learn about common scams, how to identify them and what to do if you’ve been a victim of fraud.
Identity theft and identity fraud
Identity theft happens when identity thieves steal pieces of personal information:
- without your knowledge or consent
- through phishing, a system breach, mail theft and other methods
Identity fraud is when your stolen personal information is used to commit a crime such as fraud or theft. Identity thieves use your personal information to pretend they are you and commit crimes in your name.
Identity thieves gather your name, address and phone number. They steal or duplicate your:
- bank cards
- birth certificate
- credit card and banking information
- driver’s licence number
- passport
- social insurance number
Identity thieves can take over your personal and financial life. They use stolen identities to go shopping, open new bank accounts and send your mail directly to them. They can apply for loans, credit cards and social benefits, and rent apartments. They may even commit more serious crimes.
Here’s how you can protect yourself:
- never give personal information like your credit card or social insurance number to anyone who contacts you by phone
- when making financial transactions online, make sure the website’s address is correct (type it directly into the browser instead of following a link from an email)
Learn how to avoid or recover from identity theft.
Investment fraud
Investment fraud happens when someone gives you false information to convince you to invest in something.
According to Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, over half of investment scam losses in 2022 were through fraudulent crypto investment offers.
It’s important to protect yourself before you invest. Check the registration of any person or business trying to sell you an investment or give you investment advice.
Since fraudsters often copy the names of registered companies, you should also check and verify the company’s URL (web address), email addresses and other details before investing.
Fraudsters will offer to access victim’s computers to help them open an account. Never allow anyone remote access to your devices.
Learn about the types of investment fraud and how to protect yourself.
Common warning signs
You can make a lot of money with little or no risk
- Higher-risk investments offer higher potential returns and lower-risk investments offer lower returns.
- With higher-risk investments, like stocks, there’s no guarantee you’ll make money and the risk of losing money increases with the potential return.
- Lower risk investments typically have returns similar to Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) rates, so if your expected return is higher than a GIC, you’re taking a bigger risk.
You get a hot tip or insider information
- This means the information is coming from a company insider and is confidential.
- The source of hot tips or insider information don’t have your best interests in mind. Consider why they’re offering you tips and how they benefit by telling you.
- If you act on a false tip, you will lose your money. If it is a true confidential tip about a public company from an insider, it would be illegal to act on it under insider trading laws.
You feel pressured to buy
- Scammers often use high-pressure sales tactics because they want to get your money and then move on to other victims.
- It’s likely a scam and not in your best interest, if they ask you to decide right away or they give you a limited time offer.
- Scammers know that if you take time to check things out, you may not fall for their scam.
They are not registered to sell investments
- It’s important to check the registration and background of the person you’re dealing with before you invest.
- Anyone selling securities or offering investment advice must be registered with their provincial securities regulator.
Resources to protect you and your money
Ontario Securities Commission
The Ontario Securities Commission offers information and resources to protect your money and yourself.
You can check the registration of any person or business trying to sell you an investment before you invest. This is a great tool to protect yourself from investment fraud.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre educates the public about fraud and identity theft. They collect information from the public and share the latest scams affecting Canadians. If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, report it.
Emergencies and elder abuse
What to do in an emergency
Call 9-1-1 right away in an emergency. This number is for police, fire or ambulance.
How to prepare for an emergency
Emergency Management Ontario
Get information to be safe and prepare for an emergency:
- create a family emergency plan
- stay safe in an emergency
- build an emergency survival kit
- guide for people with disabilities or special needs
- fact sheets, videos and other resources
Public Safety Canada
Get safety tips and information, including:
- Your Emergency Preparedness Guide to help you prepare for an emergency
- Alert Ready, a national service that delivers emergency alert messages to Canadians (check if your phone is compatible)
Fire safety
Seniors can be at greater risk with a fire. People with reduced mobility and cognitive challenges have a hard time responding to a fire and reaching safety.
Here are some tips to stay safe.
Make sure your smoke alarms work
- By law, smoke alarms must be on every storey of your home and outside all sleeping areas.
- Test your smoke alarms monthly and change the battery once a year or when the low battery warning sounds.
- If you suffer from hearing loss or sleep with the bedroom door closed, install a smoke alarm inside your bedroom or a flashing or vibrating smoke alarm.
Have at least two ways out of every room (if possible)
- Develop a home fire escape plan that considers your mobility challenges.
- Practice your escape plan often.
- Record your escape plans and place copies in an accessible location if you have problems remembering.
Stay in the kitchen when cooking
- Cooking fires are one of the leading causes of fire injuries among older adults.
- Turn off the stove and oven if you leave the room while cooking.
- Wear tight fitting or rolled up sleeves when cooking (loose or dangling clothing can easily catch fire).
Smoke outside
- Encourage smokers to smoke outside.
- Don’t extinguish cigarettes in plant pots as they can easily ignite.
- Never smoke in bed.
Ashtray safety
- Use deep ashtrays that can’t be easily knocked over.
- Soak ashes with water, empty them into a metal container and place outside.
- Make sure ashes are completely out.
- Never empty ashtrays directly into the garbage.
Learn how to prevent or protect yourself from fires.
Elder abuse
Elder abuse is never acceptable. It can take many forms:
- emotional
- financial
- neglect
- physical
- sexual
Who to call
911 if you or someone you know is in danger or if you feel it’s an emergency- contact your local police department if you or a senior you know has been a victim of a theft, fraud or physical assault
Learn the warning signs and what to do if someone is being abused.
Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario
Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario has Regional Elder Abuse Consultants. They work with community agencies and local elder abuse networks.
They work to:
- coordinate community resources to improve access to services by abused or at-risk seniors
- train frontline staff to identify and respond to elder abuse
- raise awareness of elder abuse and where to find help
Consultants act as a key resource to justice and community service providers and local elder abuse networks.
Seniors Safety Line
The Seniors Safety Line is:
- for seniors (or persons acting on their behalf) in Ontario who are experiencing or at risk of any type of abuse
- a confidential and free resource
- a number you can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
The phone line provides supportive emotional counselling, safety planning, information and referral services in over 200 languages.
Bringing an Awareness of Senior Safety Issues to the Community (B.A.S.S.I.C.)
B.A.S.S.I.C. works with partners to offer free presentations on a range of safety issues targeted at older adults.
The Safe Seniors Calendar offers tips to help you stay safe and active in your home and community.