Canadians’ online spending increased sharply since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing with it greater threats of cybercrime, Statistics Canada reports.
As Canucks hunkered down in isolation, many working from home, the statistical agency found 44 per cent indicated purchasing more products online related to technology, including computers, laptops and tablets, since the pandemic’s onset.
Canadians’ purchases of smartphones rose 40 per cent and online video streaming services 42 per cent.
Further, in order to maximize their use of technology, one third (34 per cent) of those surveyed indicated also spending more on their home and mobile internet connections.
To put that stay-put situation into perspective, with restrictions on travel and movement, 96 per cent reported spending less or nothing on at least one of short-term rentals, domestic or international travel.
However, with increased online activity comes the chance of being targeted by online criminals.
Some 42 per cent of Canadians experienced at least one type of cybersecurity incident since the pandemic’s start, including phishing attacks, malware, fraud and hacked accounts, Statistics Canada said.
Those phishing attacks attempted to lure people in with fraud scams related to COVID test results, a potential cure for the virus or about the Canada Emergency Response Benefit or CERB.
Just over one third reported at least one cybersecurity incident resulting in a loss, the most common being a loss related to time (87 per cent), data (13 per cent) or financial (13 per cent).
Only 29 per cent of those experiencing a cybersecurity incident during the pandemic reported it. Canadians were most likely to report the incident to the company through which the incident occurred (11 per cent) or to a credit card company or other financial institution (12 per cent) in the event of payment card fraud or financial loss.
About five per cent reported it to an authority such as the police or the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security.
In combating such incidents, Statistics Canada found it was younger people who tended to have a heightened sense of privacy.
The agency reported three-quarters of those aged 15 to 34 increased or maintained use of multi-factor authentication, compared with 39 per cent those aged 65 and older.
Just less than one half of young Canadians maintained or increased purchases of new or additional security software, compared with 28 per cent of seniors.
When online shopping, Canadians took specific steps to protect themselves. Almost half did not allow websites to remember credit card information and just over one quarter used a third-party payment system such as PayPal when making a purchase.
Other findings include:
- Many Canadians found themselves assisting others with online issues
- Four in 10 respondents spent more time on social media and messaging services, while three per cent spent less time
- Canadians aged 15 to 34 (57 per cent) were most likely to have increased their use of social media and messaging services, while those aged 65 and older (18 per cent) were the least likely to have done so
- 46 per cent of Canadians increased their use of free streaming video services such as YouTube. That figure was 68 per cent in the 15-34 age bracket
- Canadians also reported increased use of free online information services and online educational services since the pandemic’s onset
