Poilievre pledges to protect seniors by forcing banks, telcos to crack down on scammers

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to protect seniors by making it mandatory for financial institutions and phone companies to stop digital scammers in their tracks.

The plan would require these companies to detect, report and block "suspected fraud in real time," or face the prospect of massive fines and/or being charged with a new crime under the Criminal Code.

"We're going to pass the 'Stop Scamming Seniors Act,' a common-sense law that forces banks and telecom companies to deploy state of the art technology to catch scams and stop them before they happen," Poilievre said during a campaign stop in Montreal on Tuesday.

A backgrounder explaining the proposed policy says seniors are the Number 1 target for digital scammers who use phishing texts, robocalls and other tricks to fleece the elderly of their life savings.

"Meanwhile, the institutions best positioned to prevent these crimes — banks and telecom companies — are not legally required to act fast, transparently, or decisively," a statement from the party said.

Under the plan, corporations would be required to employ the same AI tools they currently use to optimize their marketing and sales initiatives to track possible instances of fraud.

Anyone caught committing an act of fraud over $5,000 would get a minimum jail sentence of one year. Those convicted of fraud over $100,000 would get a minimum sentence of three years, while those guilty of fraud over $1 million would be subject to a five-year minimum sentence.

Under the Criminal Code today, people convicted of fraud over $5,000 do not face a minimum sentence but can be sentenced to prison for up to 14 years. Those convicted of fraud over $1 million currently face a minimum prison term of two years and a maximum of 14 years.

Poilievre's plan also calls for convicted fraudsters to pay fines that amount to "ten times the amount defrauded."

"We want to financially cripple the fraudsters to deter their greed," Poilievre said Tuesday.

The Conservative plan calls for the creation of a new Criminal Code offence called "wilful blind profiteering from fraud" that would target corporate executives "who ignore red flags and knowingly allow scam traffic or activity."

Companies found to have wilfully neglected to implement scam-prevention efforts could face fines of up to $5 million per violation.

Banks and telecom companies would be required to implement mandatory scam detection systems that are specially crafted to protect seniors over 65.

Corporations would also have to create a "senior transaction shielding protocol" that would impose a 24-hour hold on high-risk transactions involving seniors' accounts. The Conservatives did not detail what qualifies as a "high-risk transaction."

During the 24-hour delay "a verification call and fraud check must occur."

Each company would be required to issue public quarterly reports detailing their fraud-prevention statistics including how many scams they blocked and customers they reimbursed.

"Our seniors deserve to feel safe and secure when they pick up their phones, iPads or computers," Poilievre said Tuesday. "If you are a bank or telco, we want you to do everything you can to protect our beloved seniors who built this country."