In late 2019, Canadian baby boomers were not particularly fond of doing anything related to money online. They harboured concerns about sharing personal information with vendors and enjoyed going to the bank in person when they needed to.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which compelled Canadians of all ages to stay at home and make more purchases online, including groceries. The use of computers or smartphones for something other than news and entertainment became more prevalent for all generations across the country.

As more people rely on online tools for commerce, the possibility of cybersecurity glitches has also increased. Over the past three years, fewer than one in five Canadians experienced five different setbacks when using technology. While 17 per cent told us their computer became infected with a virus while they were browsing the internet, slightly fewer say somebody hacked their social media platform (16 per cent) or their email address (12 per cent). Fewer than one in 10 realized that somebody used their name in order to apply for a loan or open a line of credit (nine per cent) or to receive a tax refund (six per cent).

We can also report that more than a third of Canadians have been directly targeted by scammers, with 34 per cent receiving an email offering them money for their help or assistance (known colloquially as the Nigerian scam) and 38 per cent receiving a “phishing” email, where somebody attempted to acquire their personal........

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