Equifax Canada: Credit card application fraud rate rises 8% to 0.91% in Q2 2026
EFX•Credit card application fraud in Canada rose 8% year over year to 0.91% in Q2 2026, Equifax Canada reported. Consumer debt reached $2.68 trillion, while severe delinquency rose 11.7% to 0.68%.
1. Fraud and debt indicators
Third-party identity theft drove the increase in credit card application fraud, led by true identity fraud using genuine personal data to open new accounts. The overall consumer application fraud rate rose 5% to 0.66%; first-party fraud was 0.35%, compared with 0.27% for identity theft. Canadians aged 56–65 were the most targeted group, and Quebec had the highest third-party credit card application fraud rate.
