OPINION: Why we need to end victim blaming in cybercrime 

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Cybercrime now rivals the size of the world’s third-largest economy. While AI and new technologies are accelerating that growth, victim blaming remains one of the most underestimated drivers sustaining it. 

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Every day, Canadians are targeted by cyber scams, data breaches and digital fraud, from phishing and impersonation to ID theft and online extortion. Many never come forward because they fear being blamed for what happened. That stigma compounds the personal harm and allows cybercrime to expand in the dark. 

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The scale of the threat has drawn national attention. In February, the government of Canada announced new measures to combat extortion and financial crime, including expanding financial intelligence resources, strengthening partnerships with banks and law enforcement, and establishing a new federal Financial Crimes Agency. These steps are designed to improve detection, support investigations and better protect Canadians and businesses from cyber-enabled crime. 

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Yet despite growing enforcement efforts, cybercrime remains widely underreported. 

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More than four in five Canadians have been the target of an online scam over the past two years, shows new data from the Angus Reid Institute. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), Canadians already lost over $544 million to online fraud and scams by September last year alone. 

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Authorities have repeatedly warned reported losses capture only a fraction of the true impact, estimating that only five to 10 per cent of cybercrime victims ever report what happened. 

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When victims remain silent, the consequences extend beyond the individual. Law enforcement lacks accurate intelligence. Support services can’t reach those who need help. Policymakers underestimate the scope of the problem. And cyber criminals continue to thrive on a system where blame suppresses reporting. 

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Why victim blaming persists 

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Cybercrime triggers a unique form of blame. Unlike physical crime, there is often no visible damage and no clear external cause. Victims are left replaying decisions, questioning judgment and assuming responsibility for deception that was deliberately engineered. 

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Public narratives reinforce this dynamic. Cyber victims are often described as careless, distracted or uninformed. Even victims themselves internalize the idea that they should have known better. The problem with that framing is it no longer reflects how cybercrime operates. 

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Cyber criminals now use generative AI to create phishing messages and deepfakes that mimic trusted contacts and familiar interactions with striking accuracy. This relationship-based social engineering draws on professional networks, email patterns and online behaviour to exploit trust, emotion and routine. 

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